Titans Unleashed
by Cartesian
Summary: Things are much quieter around town now that all the villains are gone: when the guild of Azar sends agents to clean up after Trigon's incarnation, the only problem Jump City has is too many bored superhumans. Slade always did love a challenge...
1. Chapter 1: Probation

Chapter 1: Probation

Robin sprinted for the stairs as soon as he could fit through the doors. Intruder alert droned the computer at maximum volume. A row of laser turrets slid from their niches in the ceiling. None of the guns inside the tower were set to their "stun" setting. "Bi Korriand'r wauk!" he shouted in Tameranian, ignoring them. A bad assumption, as it turned out. "Robin!" cried a dark blur as it shot in front of him. Raven's dome of mental energy dispelled a volley of shots. The password had been reset. "Well, this better not have changed!" Cyborg called as he pressed his hand into the recognition plate. The turrets deactivated and retreated into their slots.

Robin was running again. As if the long gauntlet of smoking weaponry lying out front wasn't enough. The truth was, the tower's defenses had never been tested much. The few enemies who had ever managed to infiltrate the tower had found a way to deactivate the guns instead of fighting them.

"The guns outside are turned off remotely." Cyborg muttered. "That means whoever it is didn't have to fight them, but he did anyway."

Robin was already out in the hall when he skidded to a halt.

"Uh, there's a faster way…" Raven was hovering in front of him. She offered her hand and he took it, felt disoriented as they rose up through the ceiling. First stop: the computer room.

Robin vaulted into the big chair in the center of the room. The screen in front of him already had feed from several cameras onscreen, as well as a word document open. The typed note read:

_"Sorry about the guns, one of them looked at me funny. If you don't want to face me alone I understand, but still, that's not your style Robin…Or is it?"_

Robin just stared at the screen for a minute. Raven came up behind him. "Don't tell me, you're going up there alone?"

"I just might," Robin said with a smirk. "I hate letting people get too cocky." He scrolled down on the page to see if there was anything else. There was, actually:

_"Well, I guess Raven can come too if she wants. If she wants Malchior's book back, that is."_

There was an uncomfortable silence. For the first time, Robin noticed the other windows. They all showed camera views of the roof, with a teenage boy sitting down in the center. His legs were in the lotus position and his eyes were closed in meditation. A certain book sat next to him. They both recognized it immediately.

"Let's go!" Raven growled, rising up through the ceiling so fast Robin barely had time to leap up into her energy field and join her ascent.

---

On top of Titans Tower a teen sat, meditating. His hair was brown, his eyes were bright blue, and everything else about him was completely black. His shirt was black, his jeans were black, his right sleeve was torn off to reveal a series of small black tattoos shaped like weapons running down his arm. He wore black Nike's and a black headband covered his forehead. A faintly shimmering aura surrounded him, shaped like his body but with a cape and longer hair. It was barely visible, but it had been enough to receive a pleasant, "Hello, Robin," from the computer downstairs. He sighed.

"Why do they always start fighting dirty when they're mad?" With his eyes still closed, he shot ten feet up off the roof, the book flying beside him. A massive, dark claw slashed out of the roof where he had been sitting, sifting the air limb from limb. A streak of black thrust out from the claw as it retreated, but he had already shifted a couple feet to the right and it missed. A pair of figures melted up out of the concrete. One of them had blackness flowing from her eyes. "Hello," he said trying to sound pleasant, like the computers.

---

Raven was seething. The Boy Wonder was now standing several feet away and he could still feel it. It wasn't like her to strike from a blind spot like that. Okay, so maybe it was, but it wasn't like her to attack so viciously, and it definitely wasn't like her to miss, twice even.

"Give. That. Back," she said, her voice a subdued roar. Somehow, Robin could sense that she was in control again. It was a marvelous bluff.

"Okay!" the boy said cheerfully. The book floated down slowly, then sped up. It streaked toward her, but just as she raised her arms to defend herself, it stopped about a foot away in front of her. A slight glow dissipated from the book as she reached out and took it. Small wisps of energy slipped into her hands, making her fingers tingle. _Definitely some form of Azarathian power,_ she thought. His eyes were still closed.

"Uh, thanks." Robin's surprise had lasted only a second. "Now what do you want from me?"

The figure up in the air smirked, and for the first time he looked dangerous. Both titans shivered. The aura around him dispersed and went inside him.

"Oh, I just came by to say Hi, but then these missiles and bullets started flying at me. I didn't feel very welcome, so I decided to strengthen our relationship by coming in and eating out of your fridge." Seeing their disbelief, he frowned.

"A friend of mine once told me that to eat out of someone's fridge is the second best way to start a lasting friendship; the best way…is to fight." For the first time, the boy opened his eyes as he stood up on thin air. He started falling like a rock, straight down to the roof. The impact was contained by a faint patch of light when he landed. "Now let's go!"

Normally, the wise overseer of Jump City would have taken different factors into account: it was stupid to get into a fight one-on-one on your own roof, not when you have four teammates around and a handful of defensive guns you can activate at any time, no matter what the guy says. But in this case, Robin charged. Good fights hadn't been coming along as often as they used to, now that the villains were frozen and the phantom, as it was being called, had disappeared. The Boy Wonder dashed toward his unknown opponent.

Robin threw the first punch, it was blocked. Robin threw the first kick, blocked. In fact, Robin was the only one raining blows, but every single one was blocked or avoided easily. The teen flipped backward, then rushed forward, spun to the side, jumped cleanly over Robin's head and landed, but didn't take the window to fight back. Every time Robin committed to a punch, the boy had already started to block. Whenever his fist made contact, he felt the force of his blow blink away, as if he were just holding his arm out. Frustrated, he leapt back.

---

Raven was just watching. Her anger was gone, now that the book was enveloped by her mind, floating down through floors toward her room. She knew Robin needed the exercise, and she knew the other titans were watching the cameras in the computer room. Nothing to worry about. Just learn about the enemy so it's easier to defeat him when you need to. Then Robin jumped back.

"What are you doing?" he asked incredulously. Raven was surprised. She hadn't actually been watching the fight, too preoccupied with her own thoughts. Apparently Robin wasn't winning just yet.

"What do you mean?" The boy answered, a purely violent smile on his lips. "This is my fighting style."

"You aren't even taking this seriously!"

"You said it, not me."

"How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"You know something." Robin never enjoyed losing, but he couldn't help feeling comfortable, in his element again.  
The teen's smirk returned tenfold. "Why of course I'll tell you my secret! I can read your mind."  
"Read this, then." Robin grunted as he launched himself for another attack.


	2. Chapter 2: Introduction

Chapter 2: Introduction

Robin went for his grappler. An unusual move, he was hoping for unexpected as well. His opponent flipped to the side, throwing his aim completely off. Whirling mid-stride, he continued his charge and things seemed to slow down for a moment. He aimed low with the hook, firing it expertly. It would rebound off the ground and latch the boy's pant leg…unless the leg moved. The teen stomped the grappler the instant it touched the concrete. Robin swung his arms up, ready to throw a left hook- but the boy was blocking! He hadn't even started to punch yet! When he shifted his weight, the boy smirked and held an arm in position to block a roundhouse kick. They continued like this for over a dozen moves: Robin would think it and his opponent would block it. Finally, Robin simply leapt at the "psychic" and met thin air as he charged under the teen's feet.

"Okay, now it's my turn." The boy was grinning again, that scary grin. He reached into his pocket and took out a small bottle. Removing the cap, he poured its contents out on the ground. It was a dull red liquid. Robin watched, tense, as he reached down and stirred the liquid with his finger. It glowed softly. Then it swirled and rearranged itself into a strange symbol, hardening in seconds. He picked it up: it was a flat ring with several struts sticking out of it. Small runes were etched into its surface.

Robin sprang at him again hoping to catch him off-guard, but his opponent moved to the side, actually moved without taking a step. He slid over, an inch above the ground. Crouching, he touched his fingers to the roof and a gust of wind spun out from his hand, sweeping any dust aside. He lay the symbol in the center of the wind-blasted spot and stood. Robin swung in with a powerful kick but rebounded off a mental wall surrounding his opponent.

_Why did he do that?_ Raven wondered. _Can't he see it?_ She could. The air had taken on a shimmering glow. It was slightly yellow, as if a cylinder of tinted of glass was standing there, around the stranger. Still, she hesitated to join the fight.

"Now," the teen was saying, "I'll show you the attack part of my technique."

Raven's memory sparked. She recognized that symbol. She's seen it a long time ago. Her mind raced, but she found he needed to dig deep to recall the entire memory. Piecing it together, she recalled a time when she was very young, and she'd seen a tournament with very strange fighting styles, with her mother. She remembered because it was so strange: every match had ended with one of the contestants putting his hand on the other's back somewhere. Then the fighter whose back was touched would surrender. That symbol, it had been on the backs of their fighting robes, and on the sign for the stadium. She was certain of it. She tried to recall any details she could. _One time, one of the contestants didn't surrender,_ she remembered. _He spun on his opponent and ended up winning the fight, but they didn't let him have the prize. They said he lost the fight and shouldn't have continued._ She wanted to warn Robin, but something told her he'd be angry about getting help. Something about his expression.

What happened next was sudden, but both of the titans watched carefully. The "psychic" jumped into the air, obviously using something invisible to propel himself because he flew over twenty feet up. Then he came down, targeting the ring with his fist. His barrier of energy flexed, forming a cone and breaking into a ring of javelin-shaped slivers. The instant his fist came down on the symbol, the boy drove the spikes of mental energy into it with a flash and… nothing happened. There was a small spark at the point of contact but the roof around it remained untouched.

The teen grabbed the symbol and stood up, rounding on Robin. He charged with a roundhouse kick that Robin blocked and a quick jab that he didn't. There was an audible slap as he caught Robin's wrist and wrenched him around. Grunting, Robin vaulted to the side, unwinding his arm and spinning the enemy down onto the concrete. _Finally!_

Robin allowed himself a bit of grim satisfaction as he watched the boy stand, wiping blood from his nose. There was a crack as it moved itself back into place and the blood flow stopped. A set of blue lines ran up the boy's neck and sank into his nose, finishing the job. "Good as new," he commented.

"Now, there's something I need to get from you. It's why I came here in the first place," the boy grinned again. That grin made Robin uneasy. When he went to stand, Robin noticed his cape wasn't moving. He heard Raven gasp behind him. Quickly, he tore at the clasps on the cape. It loosened but did not fall right away. When it did, he sensed Raven standing right behind him.

She had been watching in horror as the symbol that used to be in the boy's hand sank through the cape, connecting it to Robin's suit for a few seconds. When it was through, the cape fell away and she saw the dark red liquid seeping into the cloth on robin's back. She shot over, worried.

Robin felt something slither up his back, a very uncomfortable feeling, no matter where you are. It felt like water, but it moved like Raven's power, when she chose to solidify it. It made its way up to his neck and… disappeared. One moment he felt it curl up, the next it was gone.

On the back of Robin's neck was what looked like a tattoo in the shape of that symbol. It was dark red, and when she reached out to touch it, light sparks flew between it and her fingertips. Robin jerked away. "Ouch! What was that?"

"Let me explain this to you, okay?" the teen swaggered over. Raven glared at him but didn't strike. "If I send out the signal, that seal will release what was put into it at the moment I struck the roof. The spikes will emerge from around here..." he reached out and traced Robin's jugular with his finger. The Boy Wonder was pale but stood his ground. "But of course I'm not going to do it, am I?"

Robin cursed his carelessness. It had felt good to fight again, he still admitted to himself, but it wasn't worth this humiliation. Something told him it was nothing more than that.

"What do you want from me?" he repeated.

"I've got an assignment. Actually no, it's not really an assignment, it's a test-"

"Stop stalling and get on with it!" both titans were surprised at Robin's outburst. A dull anger was building in his chest.

"Okay, I won't graduate and finally become a member of the Guild of Azar until I pass my final test, which just so happens to be to bring back Robin's mask."

It took longer to say than it did to sink in. In some weird way, Robin felt a surge of pride before he managed to contain it. His mind started up again, working on a way out. "That's ridiculous," he countered. "Why would that be a test?"

Next to him, Raven was also thinking, but not along the same lines. _Robin's pride will be up after this,_ she realized. _He'll find a way to protect his pride, and all I have to do is figure out how to protect his life. Stupid male._ She began concentrating on that mark and how to defeat it. If her powers turned out to be stronger, she could envelop it and keep the signal from reaching it. That would have to do until she made sure it was safe to remove it.

Robin was, just like she'd guessed, formulating a plan that had nothing to do with keeping himself from getting hurt. The mask was a symbol of pride, and he'd never let a member of the team see him stripped of it.

Their adversary stood quietly as they thought, an odd look in his eyes that made them both wonder if he actually could read their minds. It made it harder to concentrate, having him standing right there, but he seemed in no hurry to stop them. Eventually, he opened his mouth again.

"Now that you've both figured out your plans, why don't you put them into action? I'm telling you, Robin, to take off your mask and hand it to me or I'll put sixteen of those meter-long spikes through the back of your neck." He crouched expectantly.

In one instant, Robin ducked and swept the teen's feet out from under him and Raven put a dome over both of them.

"Why'd you do that?" Robin demanded of her.

"To save your life, idiot."

"Didn't you hear him? He said he wouldn't actually do it! He said I had to hand it to him of my own free will!"

"No, he didn't say that."

"His lips didn't move, but I heard his voice in my head."

"Really." Raven did her best to look skeptical, but she lowered the dome anyway.

The instant it was down, Robin cried out in pain. A black-clothed blur caught her in the stomach and threw her back with a kick. Spinning in midair, Raven caught a glance of her teammate. He wasn't impaled, but his head was in his hands and his face showed a grimace of pain. Landing, she calmly walked back over to him. She felt her anger and kept in under perfect control.

"That wasn't a very coordinated effort!" the teen chortled. "Maybe you should work on that a little!"

"You tricked me!" Robin was on his feet again, feeling fine. "You said that just to break our coordination!"

"Said what?"

"You said…you did say that you wouldn't activate this seal! You gave me your word!"

The teenager looked Raven in the eye and said one of the very few things he could have said to shock her. "He's responding with something we call 'feedback.' Tell me, has he ever acted this way before, maybe after encountering a certain type of gas?" Raven's mind flashed back to the incident, and Robin watched it go, helpless to stop her from reaching her conclusion. "I didn't imagine that!" he demanded, as much for his own sake as for Raven's. But she was already convinced.

"Robin," she said softly, "We need to end this fight, now."

"Don't worry, this fight is already over," the psychic turned his back on them. "I only came to say hello; I'll have plenty of time to get your mask…I think I like this city." They watched him walk away in disbelief. He turned when he reached the edge of the roof, and smiled.

"This is a declaration of war, a war between men! Right, Robin?" Robin only grunted in return.

His opponent closed his eyes and muttered something, and a pair of massive wings sprouted from his back, solidifying as a translucent gold color. "And for my last trick…" he smirked. The mark on Robin's neck bubbled up into its solid form and sliced through the air to the teen's outstretched hand. He threw it up into the air, bent his knees, and sprang after it, massive wings propelling him upward. When he reached it, he punched the symbol and the sixteen slivers burst from it with a loud crack. _It's so...beautiful,_ Raven caught herself thinking. Then he turned and dove beneath the edge of the tower, out of sight.

"That was…unexpected," was all she could say. Robin smirked.

"I thought it made perfect sense," he retorted.

Taking a step toward the stairs, Robin's mood went sour when he discovered yet another embarrassment.

"Uh, Raven?"

"Yes, Robin?"

"Help."

---

A chorus of laughter erupted when they entered the common room, Robin leaning heavily on Raven's shoulder. It was impossible that he was this sore, but to himself he admitted that he hadn't trained in almost a week. "Oh Robin, I was so worried!" Starfire cried as she dove at him with a hug, but there was a mischievous smile on her face.

"Where were you!?" he asked incredulously. The room went quiet.

"Dude." Beast Boy hit a button on the remote, and a face appeared on the massive TV.

"…nothing to worry about, I'm an old friend of Batman's. Here, I'll prove it to you: his real name is Richard Greyson. Watch the cameras when I explain it to Robin and it'll all make sense. Anyway, I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of me for a while, at least until my squad leader arrives in the city. So when Robin comes down, tell him he can call me Recoil."

Chapter 2: Epilogue.

"Yes, hello…I see, yes I can check. One moment… … ... Actually, I'm afraid not. There appears to be no record of a boy meeting that description. And if Mr. Wayne had disclosed your name to him, I'm quite sure he'd have told me. Yes, I understand, I'll look into it, but I don't expect I'll find anything if I haven't already. Yes, Mr. Wayne is out tonight, but I'll be sure to tell him you called... You're welcome, and goodbye, young master."

Next door, Raven was sitting, surrounded with floating tomes, their pages flipping urgently. Up on the roof, she'd extended her consciousness out under the concrete, so she'd been able to catch the words Recoil mumbled before manifesting his power. The chant had gone, "Tracia, Alivon, Boros."


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

Recoil soared out over the city, admiring the view. His admiration didn't last long, though, because several seconds after he'd jumped off Titans' tower, the mission impossible theme started playing in his pocket. He withdrew a slim black communicator and flipped it open. The screen blinked on, showing a girl's face glaring back at him.

"Hello, Flashback," she said in a fluttery voice. He shuddered.

"Hey there Maria," he mumbled into the communicator. "How's it going?"

"What did you just call me?"

"Uh…"

"LISTEN UP, PUNK!" she screeched, "YOU CALL ME SERAPHIC, GOT IT!?"

"Oh, don't they still call you 'Shellshock'?"

"I'm warning you…"

"Oh, I feel warned." Recoil's confidence always returned when he remembered that Seraphic was far away. When she was around, he usually let her get away with calling him his old name from the academy. Just then, a slash of red energy split the sky, impaled his left wing with a dull thud.

"Feel warned, kid." The communicator growled. Recoil groaned. _She must be somewhere in the city_. There was a red light coming up toward him now. _Why does she always materialize bat wings?_

Snapping shut her communicator, Seraphic gained altitude, fast. When she was level with him, she stared the newbie in the eye until he looked away. He knew better than to break the silence.

"Nice wings." She smirked.

"Thank you so very much for that wonderful complement!"

"I swear, someday…"

"Can this conversation end on the ground?"

Seraphic's eyes widened in surprise, and she blinked her left eye into another spectrum. "You really overdid it, didn't you? You know, you could have beaten him without using it. _Maybe_."

"Coming from you, that means a lot. I'm going to land now."

"Get down." She ordered him unnecessarily. She knew it bugged him, taking orders. Two sets of energy wings shattered and the pieces melted into their owners' backs. The two teens angled straight down, standing peacefully on the invisible platform of wind resistance. Seraphic's feet made a sizeable dent in the concrete of the dock. Recoil's didn't leave a scratch; it just wasn't his style.

"So, it's been awhile, and I know you're dying to go eat somewhere with me. There's a pizza place downtown."

"Wow, I'd completely forgotten about it. Good thing you reminded me, or I might've gotten away before you asked."

"Well, I know you, don't I? I'm your friend, and friends look after each other."

"I'm humbled by your selflessness."

"You should be."

"If you're my friend, how come you won't let me make my own decisions?"

"Friends don't let friends make mistakes and get hurt."

"I don't make mistakes, remember? Let's go!"

"..."

_Help, help, I'm being detained against my will!_

"I heard that."

Conversations with Seraphic usually went like this. Recoil hadn't seen her for almost a year, but he found the conversation fell perfectly into their old routine. Good times… sort of.

Seraphic reached out and pressed her hand to his chest. He stiffened for an instant, remembering what had happened the first time she'd done it. He relaxed as soon as the memory passed, but she'd caught his moment of hesitation.

"Still don't trust me? Good. Now, 3-2-1-hit!" She always counted so fast! Recoil opened his eyes and took in the view around him. The pizza parlor stood in front, shaped like a slice of pizza. Many of the surrounding buildings were skyscrapers. This was downtown Jump City, the nexus of a thriving economy. They were only about a quarter mile away, so it hadn't really been necessary for her to do that. As he looked around, Seraphic strode towards the restaurant. At the back of his mind, he knew something wasn't right. There was something in her voice that he'd never heard there before, something almost sad. _When she said, "Still don't trust me"_ He mulled it over for a moment, made his decision. _Here goes nothing._

A few seconds later, he came through the front door. Seraphic considered him for a second, her head cocked slightly to the side. She winked her left eye, and he grimaced.

"You used it again just now, didn't you?" she demanded.

"Used what?"

She felt the anger rising, combined with something else…but she didn't bother to study it. _Calm down. He is not a cockroach and you will not squish him!_ For some reason, that mantra always worked best when she needed to fight back her anger. It worked now. She blinked, and her eyes were both the same shade of brown again. Recoil noticed the change and nodded. _Off the hook! Still, I didn't even get much that time. She's…acting weird._

---

"Recoil."

"Yeah?" he answered cheerfully. A massive pizza lay on the table between them, engrossed in the act of being devoured. He silently saluted her pizza-ordering skills. _I hope the cashier doesn't develop emotional issues_.

"I…need to ask you something." This was definitely not Seraphic talking to him.

"Uh, yeah?" he answered blankly.

"Can I…" "…May I…" "…uh…"

He waited patiently, but she returned to her slice of pizza.

"Yes, Maria?"

"JUST KEEP USING THAT NAME, SEE WHAT--" she caught herself. "I mean, Dear 'Recoil,' please don't call me that all the time." _All the freaking time…_

'_Dear Recoil'?_ he wondered. This was embarrassing. She felt it too.

"Look, I was thinking while you were away, and I just figured the next time I saw you, I'd, um, ask you for something."

"Yeeeeessss…?" he prompted. She'd probably feel more comfortable if he acted sarcastic, he figured. Stupid, yes, but luckily she wasn't really listening to him.

_I can't believe how hard this is. Stupid kid._ Only, she didn't actually think of him as a kid anymore. She'd called him that for years, but he was actually two years older than her. Apparently, nobody had realized that letting him use his unique ability a lot when he was young would slow down his growth. As a result, he'd been forced to enter the academy with a class that was three years younger than himself, and one year behind her and most of the agents they worked with. _He must have barely used it this past year, to have caught up so much._ Now he was about 2.471 inches taller than she was, she'd estimated earlier, with her left eye. _Should I start hovering two or three inches off the ground, or just let him be taller than me?_ she wondered, seriously considering both options. Her thoughts were broken before she could decide.

"Soooo, is your sudden retreat into introspection an unconscious attempt to escape a situation where you feel uncomfortable?" Recoil asked.

"No."

"I knew it. So what's up? What is it that you want to ask me for?"

She sighed. "I wanted to ask you…if I can have your seal." _There, I said it. Simple._

Recoil froze, uncomfortable. _There's no way she means marriage, so it must be… _He knew what she was talking about, and it left him a little shaken. Allowing seriousness to take over, he leaned forward and looked her in the eye.

"You do know what that means, right?"

She looked down but said nothing. Was she blushing? Seraphic? Seraphic, blushing? _No way._

"Look, the only person I've ever given it to was my captain, who then gave his to 'Jack'."

"…"

"Our fearless leader is always talking about how he can't stand it, but he's under orders to have it on!"

"…"

"Like today, do you realize how annoyed he'll be next time I see him? I had to use it at least a dozen times in that fight back there. Anyone wearing the seal would've been tearing their hair out with frustration."

"…"

"And… And… Well… Uh, that's all, I guess. Nobody's ever asked for my seal, just…because, you know?"

"It would mean you could never use your stupid trick on me again."

"Uh, yeah, there's that…"

"So will you make me one?"

Recoil felt a little trapped. Seraphic was acting a lot scarier than usual, even though she wasn't threatening to tear him limb from limb. He noticed her almost waist-length black hair was lying perfectly flat. Normally he didn't pay much attention to it, but he always felt accomplished when the tips of her hair began to spike upward. That meant he or another agent had made her mad, a worthy goal, it had always seemed. The effect of it lying perfectly straight was kind of eerie, but somehow it made her look more attractive than he remembered her being before. Still, there was no way he was going to make a seal for her. And why would she ask, after all this time? When it came down to it, he realized he wasn't nearly as comfortable with her knowing when he used his power as he'd thought. But she was acting so… sincere!

Seraphic suddenly leaned forward. "You're using it right now!" she accused.

He felt a pang of guilt. She was wrong; he hadn't used it on her yet, but he'd been about to. _There has to be a way to get out of this. I just have to find it. Sorry, Seraphic._

"Yes," he answered. "No point hiding it now."

Her mind raced. _Okay, I have to beat him. I have to be willing to do it, no matter what. He' won't actually let it happen, but if he thinks he can change my mind, he'll do it._

Recoil hesitated for a moment. She was planning something. What a relief! _I'd much rather face her in a battle of wills than deal with all that emotional…stuff._

"So, I've asked you, haven't I?" her voice was shrill, bordering a powerful rage that he didn't think was really there.

"Yes, and I said no." his voice wavered, but she knew that when he used his ability, he never felt nervous.

"Well then, I'll just subject you to a lot of pain until you say yes."

"I know you won't do that."

"You can say that, and I can choose whether to believe you or not."

"You can pretend, but what's the point?"

"So what'll you do? Leave?"

"Yeah, probably."

"And if I don't let you?"

"I could get away."

"No, you couldn't. Trust me."

"I can make you let me go." He hit a nerve with that one, because it was probably true.

"That's all there is to it, eh?"

"What do you mean?" She'd actually said something he didn't expect.

"That's how you see people, isn't it?" her voice grew slightly panicked.

"No, I don't."

"Listen to yourself! 'I can make people to do anything!' what, you think you should be in control of everybody else?"

"Stop. That's enough." This wasn't fun anymore. Seraphic's voice sounded more hurt than angry now. Her hair had been pointy for a minute there but now it lay down again.

"'Stop, That's enough'!" she mimicked. "You want to make me, right? Is that how you see me as well?" Was she really faking that pained edge in her voice?

"You know how it works: I don't control any-"

"Stop it! Just stop it, okay? I don't want you to manipulate me with words. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

Recoil bit back his response, then realized he didn't have one.

"And then, when you actually do shut up, I still wonder, 'what if he's just doing that to manipulate me some more?' Why do you do this to me, Recoil?"

Recoil stood to leave. He hadn't left a conversation without finishing it in almost a year. The last time he'd been talking to Seraphic as well, but this time was much worse. Seraphic looked up at him, and he was sure he imagined a tear in her eye, not enough to escape and flow down her cheek, but there. He had to have imagined it.

"There're so many layers, I'm sick of it. Don't walk away and come back tomorrow when I'm feeling better, give me an answer now!"

He'd had enough. Recoil turned back around, translating his other emotions into anger as best he could. "Seraphic, don't you understand?" he shouted. "I'm nothing without this." She blinked in surprise.

"Do you even know where I get my energy? Do you?" he quivered slightly. "Our 'leader' gives it to me, okay? I don't trick him into it, I don't-, I don't steal it from him with some kind of word manipulation. He siphons it into seals and transfers them into my body. Do you know why?" She shook her head. Her eyes were wide open surprise, but dry.

"Because your body can produce more energy in five minutes than mine does in a week! I'm a Tracian, okay? Did you think I have more energy than every other Tracian? If I didn't have this one ability, I'd be someone's damsel in distress, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm a guy!"

That was the turning point: Seraphic burst out laughing. Her timing was somewhere between awful and perfect, and Recoil managed to give her the benefit of the doubt. The tension melted from both of them and evaporated as he started laughing along with her. _No matter what else, she's still Seraphic._ Recoil mused. _She has that one trait I've never seen in another girl: she doesn't enjoy staying upset. Perfection in the form of a violent harpy…_

_Perfection? Why did I just think that?_

"Okay, you win, _kid_." Seraphic stood up and smiled. "You have me beaten when it comes to pained, feminine emotions. Be proud in that knowledge."

"Ouch. Your words are sharper than your fingernails."

"Not likely."

"Oh, by the way, what are you doing here? I'm only supposed to meet Jack, and that's not for a week or two. Are you coming with us?"

Seraphic smirked. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? No, I'm actually on a tracking mission. I was sweeping the country as part of my first mission and I detected an unregistered nagori seal on someone, so I get to go undercover! As a high-school student! I can't wait!"

"…"

"What?"

"Don't hurt anyone."

"Okay, I'll try."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. A quick glance around showed Seraphic that people weren't watching anymore. Recoil hadn't even noticed…

"Hey, Seraphic?"

"Yeah, what?"

"After I pass my test, okay?"

"What?"

"I'll be using my ability a lot, to get Robin's mask. Once I get it, I'll make you a seal."

"How long will that take?"

"I'd give it a month."

"A month? No way, make it a week."

"I can't do it in a week!"

"Then two weeks."

"Three weeks, at least."

"Okay. I'll come find you in three weeks."

"Huh?"

"By then you'll have passed your test and you won't have any problem giving me a seal, right?"

"Sure, I guess." _Her hair's all pointy! She isn't mad, is she?_

"Unless you don't want to…" her hair flopped down, lifeless.

"No, I was just thinking that three weeks was a long time, you know? It's been months since I've seen you and all…Maybe we could hang out sometime sooner?"

"So just call me, idiot." With that, Seraphic stretched her scary-looking bat wings out of her back and leapt straight up. A handful of people on the street below pointed and shouted. Just before she flew behind a skyscraper, she winked out of sight.

Recoil sighed. The truth was, he'd used his power again, there at the end. He remembered how much he always used to do it at the academy, and before. _I sure paid the price then, but nobody knows for sure what'll happen now that I'm older. I'm an unprecedented case._ He strode over to the table and grabbed the last slice of pizza, stuffing a third of it in his mouth. He walked over, put his hands on the waist-high barrier of the pizza parlor's second level, hoisted himself up onto it. _Now, how did he always do that?_ After thinking for a minute, he vaulted off the edge. Straightening his body, he flipped his legs over the rest of his body and spun. Feet from the ground, he realized he wouldn't be able to land it properly. He stopped inches off the ground, staring straight at it. Everyone was looking at him; it was quite embarrassing, but he didn't care. He sighed. _Sorry Zephyr, I'm not leaving until I get it right._

…_Three weeks…I guess that steps up my schedule, only a lot. Nothing to worry about… _

_Call her, eh?_


	4. Chapter 4: Investigation

Chapter 4: Investigation

The sign outside the large, white building reads, "Jump City Public High School." As if anyone with a sense of humor would call it that...

'Jump High' is situated near the center of Jump City, amid the skyscrapers. Some people had suggested moving it farther from the constant activity, for the safety of the students, but others thought it would be good for the kids to be "always looking up" at what people could design and build with the right knowledge. Some of the nastier male students got together at night every couple of months to see who could put a rock through the glass of the highest story. Ah, the exuberance of youth. It was a day in mid-April, and a surprisingly powerful cold front had swept over the city, one of the death throes of an ending winter.

Most of the students not taking the bus were bundled up with various jackets and hooded sweaters. One of the students, however, wore nothing over the school uniform for girls: a white collared shirt with a black tie and a navy blue skirt. Her skin was slightly tan and she had a good figure with pretty facial features. Her sleek, black hair was almost-waist length and she had a black book bag. You wouldn't know just by looking at her that she'd never stepped foot in a high school before. Her expression was cheerful, but she was secretly fuming. A very thin, faint layer of red light surrounded her body, keeping her perfectly warm. The reason she was upset just so happened to be the uniform she was wearing. Navy blue was definitely not her color: it clashed terribly with her red-brown eyes, especially when they lit up and glowed bright red with the power of her rage. Too bad she wouldn't be able to do that here.

She stopped to tie her mysteriously loose shoelace when she saw another girl coming toward her, down a side alley. It wasn't a very good reason to stop, but these were teenagers, not Xasica City security guards. Pleased with her timing, she straightened up and started walking again. Her shoelace glowed red and tied itself.

The other girl turned the corner and started walking quickly toward the school. She had a sweater on, but her legs were freezing and she wanted to get inside where it was warm. She was thin, with bright blue eyes and blond hair down to the small of her back. The uniform looked like it had been made for her. As she came closer to the girl in front of her, she noticed that it wasn't as cold as it had been a moment before. She pushed past her, intent on getting to the heat inside that school and nothing else. Walking in front of the other girl, she suddenly felt bitter cold again. She quickened her pace.

_Not very nice of her._ Seraphic thought. She flicked some hair out of her eyes. The girl she was now following tripped suddenly, falling on her face with a muted cry. _Now I feel bad…kinda._

"Holy crap! Are you okay?" Seraphic jogged over to help the girl up. _Ladylike, real ladylike, Sera,_ she congratulated herself sarcastically.

The girl glared daggers when she reached her. "What did you do that for!?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?" Seraphic answered innocently.

"You tripped me! I felt it!"

_Oops..._ "That's ridiculous. I was all the way back there!"

The girl considered for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you were. Sorry." Seraphic helped her to her feet.

---

The strange girl's grip was surprisingly strong. She just pulled, and Jennifer found herself up on her feet as if it hadn't taken any effort at all. Plus, she felt warm now, almost uncomfortably so. The heat seemed to be coming from this girl, like a campfire or something.

She frowned. The girl noticed her staring. "What?"

"You're…hot."

"Oh, thank you," the girl smiled. Then she frowned. "Unless you mean…uh, I'm not really into girls."

Jen was confused, then she blushed furiously. "No, no I meant your temperature! It's so cold out today, but when I stand near you I can feel heat coming off you."

"Oh." The girl looked embarrassed. A gust of wind blew away the aura of heat, and the two girls stood there, suddenly shivering again.

"Woah, what was that?" Jen asked.

"Uh, I don't know?"

"Uh-huh…" Something wasn't right here. "You aren't one of those 'superheroes', are you?"

The other girl gasped. Something was definitely right in what she'd said. "Look, I'm not one of you, okay? I've been through this already." She turned and strode away.

Seraphic just stood there in surprise. _The target knows about the Guild of Azar. She was __expecting__ someone to come!_ This was not good. Then it occurred to her. _Oh, she must mean those Teen Titans, or another local group. Well, now I have a motive. "I'm not one of you," eh? That means she probably is. This won't be as boring as I expected._

It was too late to catch up to the girl now, but there'd be plenty of chances. Seraphic reactivated her heat shield, grateful for the warmth again.

---

Class, we have a new student today. Her name is Courtney and her family just moved to Jump City. You can come in now, Courtney.

The girl stepped through the door into her homeroom class and smiled. A handful of students looked up at first, then a few more guys started paying attention. "Dude, check it out. She's pretty hot," Jen heard one of the guys sitting behind her whisper. "Nice," his friend whispered back. She tensed a little. It was that girl again. This was going to get ugly. Maybe not now, but it would eventually. She sighed.

"The truth is, my dad's working on a temporary project here, so I don't know how long I'll be able to stay. I hope it'll be a while, though." Courtney glanced around the room.

With a start, Jen realized the chair next to her was empty. _No. No way._ She hastily lifted her backpack onto the seat and began rummaging through it, looking for something imaginary. "Hey, can I sit here?" a sweet voice came from beside her. Pretending to be startled, Jen jerked her head up. "Huh?" She was eye to eye with the girl. Courtney's eyes were a shade of bright red. "Oh," she said quietly. "Sure."

"Did you see that? The new girl just leaned back real quick, like it was nothing."

"Yeah, I thought she was gonna take a hit to the chin." Jennifer blushed bright red and slid her backpack off the seat. _Note to self: never sit in front of those two again._

"Thanks!" Courtney smiled and slipped into her chair.

"Don't mention it," Jen mumbled.

"Now, I'll just take attendance." This teacher wasn't fazed very easily, it seemed. As she started calling out names, Jen noticed Courtney turning to say something. She looked away quickly, but the strange girl actually leaned over and started talking anyway.

"I don't know what you were talking about earlier, but whatever you know, I need to know too. Be my friend and I can guarantee certain…benefits."

Jen, feeling uncomfortable, turned to face her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah, like I'm gonna forget something like 'I'm not one of you' that easily. Even if you're not 'one of us,' you know something. Like how you didn't just blow off the heat like it was just some random coincidence."

Jen felt some confidence return as she realized that this girl was desperate. "I've had enough of people like you, okay?"

"Okay, first off, what exactly do you mean, 'people like me'?"

"Oh, I don't know," Jen smirked, "Maybe people who don't answer to the names they give you?"

"What?" Courtney looked around. Everyone was staring.

"Once again, Miss Courtney Rumble?"

"Oh, sorry. Present!" She blushed deeply, getting several glances from guys around the room.

"So what's your real name, Miss Courtney?" Seraphic glanced at her. _Relentless little thing, aren't you?_

"Easy for you to say, 'Miss Jennifer.' At least you _think_ you've been in high school these past few years."

Courtney seemed to think she'd made a point, but Jen didn't get it. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Although you wouldn't know just by looking at her, Seraphic had spent a lot of time studying the works of Janiel the wize, the famous Azarathian "personality scientist." In his books, she had read about the surprisingly huge number of different ways to deal with situations like this. Since it seemed she had already eliminated all of the methods that included not revealing your abilities and intentions to your target, she opted to use the "completely direct" approach. It was her favorite one anyway. Turning, she looked Jen directly in the eye and smirked.

"If you're so normal, why do you think 'someone like me' came after you in the first place? Because they thought you were an average high school girl?"

Jen looked shaken. There was something there, something had happened already. If it was an agent, they would have informed her before she entered this area._, No sweeper's been here in over two years. Maybe someone else found her, someone who'd heard of her before it happened._ She decided that was enough for now. "Well, if you're not comfortable talking about it, I won't push you."

"Okay," Jen agreed.

…_crap._ Courtney made a point to scowl before turning her attention away.

_No, I will not fall for such an obvious trick. I am, actually, not a complete idiot._ Jen was smug, but she was only just suppressing her curiosity, for now.

They sat in silence for the next fifteen minutes. Courtney hadn't brought anything to do with her, so she entertained herself by twiddling a pencil between her fingers. Jennifer had work to do, but she ended up watching the girl next to her do pencil tricks. It was pretty boring schoolwork. Time passed, and the tricks she was doing got more and more complicated. At least one of them, Jen was sure, couldn't be done by a normal person. The force that spun the pencil came from nowhere. Looking around, Courtney realized she had a bit of an audience, and then the tricks got a little out of hand. Apparently prone to showing off, she balanced the pencil on her index finger and spun it, jumped it to her middle finger, then down to her ring finger and pinky. She held her hand out, palm down with the pencil stuck to it with some invisible force, let go, and caught it on top of her hand without it moving an inch. You could barely see her hand move at all. Finally, she went into an insane combination of twiddling it between her fingers and flipping it from hand to hand. After several seconds of this, she reached into her pocket with one hand and tossed the pencil up with the other, so that it bounced off the ceiling. She took a dime out of her pocket, flipped it into the air, and breathed, "heads." The pencil caught the dime tip-first an inch off the desk and both landed with a loud ping. There was a gasp from the crowd of seated teens. The pencil stood, perfectly balanced on its tip. The dime showed heads. "Ta-da!" she whispered, and the pencil fell onto the desk.

Jen stared with everyone else, but more with annoyance than surprise. This girl's abilities were not going to stay a secret, if that's what she was hoping. But whatever. _Not my problem._ But somehow, thinking that, Jen felt a small stab of guilt.

Apparently the teacher had been engrossed in a very good book, and she barely looked up to see the slew of whispering that followed.

"That was awesome!" came from behind them.

"She can hear you, idiot."

"I know. That was awesome, new girl! Do it again!"

Courtney turned to smile at him. "Sorry, only one performance is free. Next time, you'll have to pay to see it." She giggled.

_Did she just giggle!? What's she trying to do?_

_Did I just giggle? That felt weird!_

The guys appreciated it, though. "Any time, baby! How much for a private show?"

Courtney's face darkened. "I try to forgive people the first time they call me a pet name. After all, how could they know how much I hate pet-names?"

Both guys felt a shiver head down their spine. Everyone who had heard her turned to stare in surprise. Seraphic caught herself. "Uh, heh, I mean, I'm not good with names. If you want me to hear you, it would be better to call me Courtney. I sorta phase out sometimes and don't know when people are talking to me." She smiled again. She was really good at that. Everyone relaxed but Jen. _What the heck was that? And they ignored it! She's got them eating out of her hand already!_

_Whew. That was close._ Seraphic heard the bell ring and stood with the rest of the class. Grinning, she made it a point to see how quickly she could maneuver out of the classroom. She sensed the boys from behind her making half an effort to keep up. Once in the hall, she stalled. Grabbing a sheet of paper from her bag, she scanned it quickly. Her notes were in Rath, the combat language. Many Azarathians can kill faster than they can say "kill," so in ancient times they created an entire language made up of two-syllable words or less, to communicate on the battlefield. In the written form of Rath, the sheet had the schedule of every student in the school. Seraphic prided herself on her handwriting: most Agents took up at least twice as much space when they wrote.

She found Jen's name, even though she'd already memorized her schedule. P.E. was next. Easy. Now, how far would she have walked if she didn't know where to go…

Jen deliberately came out last. And there was Courtney, standing outside looking completely lost. The boys that sat behind them were chatting with her.

"…I've had trouble finding classes before, and that was in a much smaller building," she was saying sheepishly. 'You'd think that since I move a lot I'd be good at understanding new buildings, but they always throw me off."

"Well, what class do you have next?" Jen's ears perked up as she walked past them.

"P.E." she answered. The blond girl groaned audibly.

"Sounds bad. Do you have it too?" Jen stopped. Courtney had reached out and latched onto her, now she was dragging her into the conversation. Jen smirked at the thought.

"Yeah, I do. It's okay…I guess," she said mildly.

"So do we!" interjected one of the boys. "We'll make sure it isn't too bad for you, okay?"

"Sure!" Courtney replied. Jen could've sworn there wasn't really that much enthusiasm behind that sparkling smile. How could there be? She'd probably explode.

"Well, I gotta go get changed," went Jen's bid for freedom.

"Oh, Ummm, can I go with you?" Courtney looked embarrassed. "I don't know where to go." She smiled sweetly. _Denied._

"I could show you," the other guy offered.

"Into the girls' changing room?"

"Uh, well, I could show you where the door is."

"I'm going," Jen said gruffly. "If you want to follow me, go ahead." She started striding away, fast.

"Okay, then, I'll see you in a few minutes!" Courtney smiled over her shoulder as she hurried after her target.

"Okay!" they said in unison.

"Dude, she was talking to me."

"Yeah, prove it!"

"She was looking straight at me."

"Says who?"

---

Courtney caught up to Jen and sighed, her face melting down to normal expression levels. "Wow, I'm tired from smiling," she thought out loud.

"I feel your pain."

"Hey, we've got to stick together, don't we? All for one and one for all!"

"Where did you get that idea?"

"Oh. I'm sorry." Courtney's face was downcast. They passed a group of guys just then, and several pairs of eyes followed her. A few of them noticed her depressed look and glared at Jen questioningly.

"Holy crap! Why do you keep following me?"

'I don't know the way, remember?" Courtney was cheerful again. _It's like she's bipolar._

"Right, whatever."

"Hey, are you saying I _should_ know?" The trap was set.

"Well just maybe!" The trap was sprung. "You _obviously_ know more about everything than you're letting on. Why wouldn't you know your own way to class? Unless of course you just wanted to preach at me, to spend more time telling me how you want something amazing from me, just like…like…" she trailed off.

"So let me get this straight: you're saying that people should be held accountable if they choose to do less than they can do? Even if they don't know how, it's their job to figure it out?"

"What?"

"That doesn't look too good for you, does it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Jen was actually surprised to find that she did understand. Because of what he'd said to her before…

"So how about you keep ignoring what I say and be a normal high school girl, and I keep pretending I don't know where any of my classes are, and follow you around. Our schedules are the same all day long."

_All day long…All day long…_ The words echoed in Jen's head. She threw her head back and screamed, long and loud. Okay, actually she didn't, but she screamed inside her head, out of annoyance. _This girl is trying to ruin my life!_

"Hey, relax! Let's be friends, okay?" Courtney turned into the girls' changing room before her.

_So she did know where it is…_ Jennifer thought vacantly.

-----

Chapter 4 Preview:

_"Really, Slade, I expect a lot from you when you say 'there's more'," Red X turned to leave._ _Translation: show me more._


	5. Chapter 5: Delegation

Chapter 5: Delegation

The dark figure strode forward, confidently. Whether he was afraid or not was irrelevant. He was the only one for the job. _Literally. He's the only one __left.__ But that's about to change._

"You have a proposition for me, I hear."

"Is that what you hear? Perfect."

"I don't have time for you to talk. Start now, and maybe my patience won't run out."

He narrowed his eyes. _Failure of any kind and you must suffer such disrespect for a lifetime. Unless I act now._

"I have a job for you. I think you will enjoy it; after all, it is simple, challenging, and important to me, which means a good payout upon your return. Interested?"

Red X stepped forward, into the light. "Maybe."

Slade continued. "There was a time that you are no doubt aware of, though you do not remember it personally, when the titans fought a great battle in a quazi-dimension surrounding the earth. The details of this battle seemed insignificant to me at the time, as I had much more at stake than usual."

Red X soaked in the information. _Of course he didn't know. And of course he'll pretend he did. It's regrettable, but this is the quickest way to gain an ally,_ Slade mused.

"I allowed it to escape my attention that I had left a certain artifact, a certain ring, in the possession of the Teen Titans after the battle. To put it simply, I've hired you."

"You haven't bought me yet, Slade. I have no reason to oppose the titans at this point."

"Oh, but there's more. To help you fully comprehend your part in this mission, I need to introduce you to your partner."

"Not likely."

"Actually, it's inevitable. Devin, show yourself."

A second light flashed on to Red X's left and a small boy stepped into it. He had a shock of black hair sticking out in random directions, but his face had a serene look on it. "Hi!" he said cheerfully to X, and waved.

"He will be joining you on this mission. He has the ability to do it, but he lacks the experience. You will help him gain that experience."

Red X wore a mask, but you could hear the scowl in his voice. "Last I checked, my babysitting service wasn't going that well. Get someone else." Still, he didn't turn to leave. A detail like that spoke volumes.

"Show him 'me', Devin."

Red X looked over and saw Slade standing in the light. The one standing there looked exactly the same as the one on his "Throne." He didn't need to look closely to know that.

"Really, Slade, I expect a lot from you when you say 'there's more'," Red X turned to leave. _Translation: show me more._

He stopped, face to face with himself. Even the metal was the same.

"Devin is…my adopted son, now." Slade remarked. "You and I both know that he cannot live as a normal person. He needs a place where the extraordinary…is essential."

"Pleased to meet you. Know that I have no intention of fighting you for such a trivial reason as could be found here." The voice droned perfectly. In his mind's eye, Red X could see himself saying that.

"You want to improve his…skills?" Red X asked without turning around.

"Oh, no, I'm quite satisfied with those. What he needs is combat experience…and of course, he needs to know exactly what each Titan looks like, how they speak, and what they say when they do speak. You understand, of course."

"I don't seem to be much of a participant in this plan. Tell me, why should I do it?" The answer was already nagging at the edge of his mind, and he didn't like it at all.

"How should I say this?" Slade's voice bore a cruel smile. "Your rudeness earlier has caused me to question your ability. Pass this test, and you will have proved yourself capable, again. But let me make this very clear: 'Red X' will infiltrate Titans' tower and retrieve the ring, whether you are there to see it or not."

As Red X turned back to face Slade, he heard his own voice behind him. "It just comes to me naturally. What can I say? I love what I do."

_Well, the least I can do is glean some information from his moment of relaxation,_ Red X figured. He asked, "So, just why is this ring so important to you?"

Slade chuckled, leaning forward. "I was wondering when you'd ask that. Let's just say it belonged to an old friend of mine. A very, very old friend…"

-----

Chapter 6 Preview:

_Red X was silent for a moment. "Who draws the line between what is necessary and what isn't?"_


	6. Chapter 6: Infiltration

Chapter 6: Infiltration

It was a relatively quiet day at Titans' tower. Robin was holed up, studying tapes of his fight with Recoil for hours on end. They'd worried about him at first, until Starfire mentioned how happy he seemed.

"What!?" Beast Boy had asked, incredulously.

"Can't you tell?" she'd answered sweetly, "His heart is full of joy at having an opponent again! Yes, he shows his joy in an angry, focused way, but I know he is fine."

That ended the worrying. Starfire just knew stuff about Robin that was hard to pick up on sometimes.

Then Beast Boy, the noise maker of the group, started shutting himself up in his room. When Starfire asked, he'd hinted about a "Super-cool ultimately amazing move I thought up after seeing Robin get thrashed! I just have to learn it, though…"

Cyborg had then gotten a brand new core prototype for the T-car, but apparently it wasn't working right. "It's just too powerful!" he'd complained at breakfast. "I'll have to replace or redesign half the car to make it compatible. She'll be sweet when I'm done, though."

Raven usually spent lots of time in her room, but now there were flashes of light coming from under her door every couple minutes. When Beast Boy mentioned it, she kept him from bugging her about it by simply telling them; she was using the Azarath Public Archive to warp books to her room and back. She hadn't found the information she wanted yet.

"She's never done that before…" was all even Beast Boy could think to say.

And Starfire, ever the trooper, was alternating between offering to help the others and cooking Tameranian dishes. After they'd all tried the Roast Crimbat, there was a chorus of requests every time she asked if anyone wanted a hand. Except for Beast Boy, that is. He wanted it to be a surprise. The others all figured, as long as there's no loud crashing sounds or animal noises coming from his room, it's fine.

On this particular day, Starfire seemed to have helped as much as she could. Raven had found a book so massive it would take a while to read, Cyborg and Robin had both hit mental blocks in their work, and Beast Boy… well, his room didn't smell bad when you walked by so they knew he wasn't dead. Also, some of her Tameranian spices had mysteriously disappeared. There was nothing to do but take a walk.

Starfire opened her window and flew out, not bothering to close it behind her. It had been another cold morning, but now it was nice and warm out. She hesitated when she was a few feet away from the tower. Turning, she reentered her room. _I almost forgot…_ she realized.

---

A knock sounded at the door, and Robin sighed. "Come in, Star." Each of the titans had a very distinctive knock. If it'd been a different titan, he would've seriously considered sending them away.

Starfire entered the room and looked around. "Has it become…even messier than before?" she joked, a look of innocence on her face.

He grinned. "No, it's just your imagination."

She came into the room, still glancing around curiously. "I am hoping to point out your progress and cheer you up," she admitted after a moment. He scowled. "…Or maybe I will simply encourage you despite your lack of progress?" Robin couldn't help grinning.

"Thanks, Star. Uh, have…a…seat." He was grabbing stuff off a chair while he talked. Soon it was ready, and she sat down.

"I feel that I must ask you Robin, why are you still studying in here? How much more do you hope to learn from all of this?" she gestured to the debris around them.

Robin felt his determination rising up again. "I just can't figure out how he did it! I know what he said, but there's no way he can read minds, right? I just know he's got some sort of trick up his sleeve."

Starfare looked at him quizzically. "You have another explanation, then."

"Actually, I have no idea."

Starfire regarded him for a few seconds. "Robin?"

He'd already looked back at his papers, but Robin jerked his head up when he heard her tone of voice. "Yes, Starfire?"

"I…want to make a deal with you. I want you to go over the fight one more time with me, and if we do not find anything I want you to take a break from the studying."

"Star!"

"For at least one whole day." Starfire looked determined now. "You need to go do something. I do not even care if you go and train in the gym so you can beat…him, but you need to not be in here!"

Robin sighed and reached over, instructing the computer to replay the fight scene. "Okay, I get it," he said gently.

Starfire's eyes sparkled with interest and she paid close attention to the screen. Robin noticed this and thought, _How does she do that?_ It was one of the things he appreciated most about her: she always looked like she was interested in things.

Twenty minutes later, Robin found himself punching a bag in the training room. Instead of getting impatient, Starfire had watched the video three times with him to make sure he was satisfied. She hadn't thought of anything, but the things she'd said earlier had gotten him thinking. He had studied the video enough that he could easily imagine Recoil standing in front of him, blocking his moves. Robin could decipher the teen's fighting style, at least, and figure out the tricky part the next time he faced this new rival.

He did wonder where Starfire had disappeared to, though. She had said something about not feeling well and gone back to her room. _It's best to not disturb her now,_ he decided.

Down the hall, Starfire winced at a sharp crackle in her ear. Quickly turning down the volume, she hissed, "What is it?"

"Don't get too cocky, runt," came Red X's voice through the earpiece.

"If I scare you, don't be embarrassed to say it, mercenary," came Devin's sharp retort.

"You know what to do. Get to a window so I can do my job," Red X ordered.

"Give me a minute, okay? I have another stop." Starfire then whipped the tiny speaker out of her ear and stowed it in her back pocket. _Ridiculous clothes don't even __have__ pockets unless I add them. What kind of idiot invented these!?_

---

Beast Boy glanced out the window again. He'd finally been ready to test his new technique outside when he'd seen Starfire fly out from the tower. She'd gone around the building, but just when he was about to leave he'd seen her coming back. He was just deciding it was safe to open his window again when he heard a knock at the door. He quickly transformed back into his human form.

"Come in," he called, slightly annoyed.

The door opened and Starfire looked into the room. "Hello, friend Beast Boy, how is it going with you?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, Starfire! Didn't I see you leave a few minutes ago?" he diverted. She looked uncomfortable for a moment before replying, "I was going to go shopping, but I decided to ask if anyone wanted to come with me."

_Starfire... asking me to go shopping with her? Something's wrong with this picture._ Beast Boy was both suspicious and surprised. "Oh, uh, well, thanks for the offer, but I'm kinda busy right now."

She looked around the room. "With what?" she asked, sounding so innocent.

"Uh, the, the ultimately amazing move, of course! I'm almost done with it!"

"Really? Can I see it?"

"Uh, emphasis on almost. Almost done with it."

"Aww, that's too bad…" Starfire whined. It was so unusual it didn't register in Beast Boy's mind right away.

"…What?" he said finally.

"I was really hoping to see it…" she trailed off. Something wasn't right.

Before he could speak, Starfire crossed the room to his bed and asked, "Can I sit down?"

"Uh, sure."

She sat down on the bed and immediately let out a small squeal of pain

"What's up?" Beast Boy asked, concerned.

"Something is…wrong with me." She winced again. "My back hurts a lot, and when I fly it hurts more."

"Has Raven looked at it? She could probably help somehow, work some Azarath mojo or something."

"Raven refused to see me. She is engrossed in her books." Starfire looked down. _She looks so cute!_ He thought before he could stop himself.

"Well, I don't know what I can do about it. It's not like I'm a doctor or anything."

Starfire looked up abruptly. "But your parents were doctors, weren't they? Surely you know something!"

"Not that much, actually. I wasn't a very smart kid at the time."

Starfire laughed at his joke, but her laughter died away a second later. "Owww…" she moaned. "Beast Boy, can you please at least look at it and tell me if you see anything?"

Beast Boy got an odd look in his eye. "What do you mean?"

Starfire turned and started to lift her top over her head. "It hurts! Can't you do something about it?"

He panicked. "Woah! Hold on a minute, Star! It's not…I'm not…What would Robin do to me?"

With another gasp of pain, Starfire slipped her top over her head. "Do you really want to tell him?" she asked quietly.

Beast Boy tore his eyes from her bra. He'd always known she had a good figure, but he'd never really fantasized about it much. "Actually…" he began, but Starfire stopped him from finishing with another cry of pain.

"Do you see anything, Beast Boy?" she turned away. There was nothing on her back.

"No." He was glad for a simple answer.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said. Starfire sighed.

"Wait…" The changeling watched in horror as a massive bruise developed on Starfire's back. Its appearance was slow at first, but it grew rapidly and turned a painful-looking shade of purple. "Uh, Starfire? What happened to you!"

She heard the panic in his voice and turned to face him, frowning. "I-it's nothing. I j-just felt something and wondered about it." She was shivering, but Beast Boy knew she wasn't cold.

"Starfire, tell me what happened," he coaxed, trying to stay calm.

Starfire's pupils dilated, creating a wild look of alien terror. "I-it wasn't his fault!" She yelled. "He was frustrated! I don't care about it! I just want to…" she buried her face in her arms, finished quietly, "…forget about it."

Beast Boy's eyes were the size of dinner plates, quite literally because he was a changeling and he'd transformed partially from shock. "Wha-what!? What are you talking about? You…you don't mean Robin!" He said it as a fact, not a question, but she nodded slightly in response.

"Beast Boy, I…"

"NO!" he interrupted. "I don't believe it! You guys are so close! This is some kind of trick. It has to be."

Starfire looked up, and her eyes were red. "Beast Boy, I came here for one reason. I have to go now."

"Wait, Starfire!" he cried as she jumped up and ran to the door. "What reason!?"

She looked down and answered, "There is a law on my planet. It is a law you have never heard of before."

"Yeah?"

"The law is that whenever a Tameranian, does something, they have to tell one other person. I need to tell you."

"Wait, 'Does something?' What are you going to do?" Asking questions was all his mind could do right now.

"I am going to my room now, Beast Boy, and I will complete the Tameranian rite of forgetfulness. You are my nagorata, the one chosen to remember."

He froze. "What?"

She smiled at him, but there was something strained about it. "You already said it, didn't you? Robin would never do anything to hurt me." She wiped a tear from her eye. "In fact, he never did. I'm sorry, Beast Boy, but you need to remember this for me." Starfire walked back over to the bed, put on her top again. She brushed her arm against him when she turned, and he felt a small spark. Then she was gone, out the door and down the hall before it closed.

"What the heck was all that!?" Beast Boy shouted at his room. "The…The Tameranian rite of what!?"

Despite his private theatrics, his mind was racing. There was nothing he could do about what Starfire said, not without figuring out what on earth she was talking about. A part of him suspected that he was deliberately pretending to be dumb to avoid the terrible thing she'd told him. But a much larger part was awakened, a piece of his mind that hadn't really died, but he'd pretended it was gone. The only reason he'd left her behind was that he couldn't prove it was actually her. If there was even the slightest possibility that she could…get her memories back or something, that changed everything.

After a full five minutes of intense thinking, the changeling dashed to the window and threw it open. There was only one thought on his mind as he jumped out of the tower: _Terra._

---

A few minutes later, Starfire entered his room again. Red X swung through the window Beast Boy had left open and landed in a crouch, next to her. "That was some horrible acting," he remarked.

"The sad part is, I think he bought it," Devin chuckled.

"Let's go." Red X was getting impatient. Standing in Titans' Tower felt…odd.

Beast Boy took the earpiece out of his pocket and inserted it into his ear. Without looking back, he strode to the door.

"Oh, by the way," he mentioned without looking back, "I managed to catch Beast Boy's thoughts when we touched. Apparently the 'rite of forgetfulness' bit shook him up."

"You made that up, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I stole the word _nagorata_ from an old book of Slade's. That was definitely a mistake."

"Never throw bits of truth into a lie unless the person you're lying to already knows them."

"I'll remember that."

-----

Author's Note:

How's it going, my 3-4 readers? I'm not writing this to be a concrete work, so if you have suggestions I want to hear them. I don't have any qualms about going back and changing a chapter if it improves the story. So, here's the deal: if you review my story, I will come one or more of your stories and review them! For every review I get I'll try to leave 2 reviews for your works. So please come review and help me get good at this.

Oh, and these chapters don't always transfer perfectly from Word and sometimes I'm too lazy to fix them. If you see something that could flow better please let me know.

Chapter 7 Preview:

"That was a dramatic entrance," Recoil commented. Beast Boy recognized him instantly, from the surveillance tapes. He looked past Robin's new rival, remembering why he was there. A black-haired girl was standing by the door, wearing the Jump High school uniform. He sighed heavily. _Not her._


	7. Chapter 7: Collaboration

Chapter 7: Collaboration

Jennifer sighed. _What a day._

It was last period, and she was stuck in an algebra test. The test was done, but she'd decided to savor the last few minutes alone: Courtney had finished already and was probably standing outside. _Will this never end?_

Looking back over the last three days, she couldn't help but think that if there was a story about her life, the author probably would have skipped over them. The strange girl had stuck to her like glue, or something else that sticks to you all the time. Most of the supernatural stuff had stopped after the first day, after gym class, when dodgeball had gotten out of hand. (She'd defended herself saying, "Oh come on! The teacher was counting down the line, one-two-one! You know all the good players switched places to be on the same team. I was just evening the odds!") Of course, there were still plenty of strange things about her. For one thing, she understood English perfectly, but she didn't know how to write! She said written languages weren't worth knowing if you knew how to speak them! The teacher had just stared at her.

Then there was drama class, when they had to do trust exercises. The idea of falling backward into another's arms has been somewhat overdone, which kind of removes the 'trust' issue. Courtney had found a way to reintroduce that need for trust by catching her about six inches off the ground. A handful of jocks then tried to copy her, which of course led to disaster. Something about the way she could mysteriously apply pressure down the entire back, but they could only catch the shoulders. It was actually pretty funny to watch.

And probably the most disconcerting "coincidence" was that of her two best friends, Clare and Brittney. Clare had gotten a new boyfriend that she always hung out with, nothing unusual there, but Brittney had won a vacation to Hawaii. From a contest that she didn't remember having entered. _Yeah…right. __That__ happens all the time._

Sighing again, she finally got up and headed for the door. No point delaying the inevitable. But then, Courtney wasn't there. Jen looked around warily and went for her locker, feeling…lucky? Maybe that was it. She got what she needed from her locker and walked out the front door of the school. And there stood Courtney.

"Do okay on the test?" she asked pleasantly.

"Whatever." Jen slumped her shoulders and trudged down the steps. Courtney fell in beside her.

"I was wondering if you want to grab something to eat."

"Maybe." Another thing Jen had learned: this girl was loaded. If you have to be followed everywhere, it's nice if the person buys you food and stuff.

"Cool. I just found this place downtown."

"Really? For what?"

"Pizza."

Jen froze. Her shadow stopped after a few steps and looked back at her. "Something wrong?"

"Uh, no, I guess not. It isn't shaped like a pizza slice, is it? With an open upper level?"

"Yep, that's the one!"

Jennifer started walking again. This girl was obviously making her paranoid, making her see coincidences as a big deal. Nothing but a coincidence.

While she was thinking, Courtney did one of the small weird things she did. She reached for her right shoulder, where she had a bright red tattoo in the shape of a rose. Then she physically reached her hand into it and drew out an odd looking cell phone. Jen didn't even notice anymore. She flipped it open and pressed a few buttons. After a few seconds, a teenage boy's face appeared on its screen. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," was all he said, and the screen blinked off. For a second, Jen noticed that Courtney was gritting her teeth, and the tips of her hair were pointing upward slightly. Then she relaxed and smiled.

"Aren't you going to ask who that was?" her face looked genuinely friendly. _How does she do that?_

"Let me guess; you have a boyfriend who's psychic."

Courtney just stared at her. Then she laughed. "How'd you know?"

Jen groaned.

"Actually," Courtney continued, "He's not my boyfriend. And he's not really psychic. He just wants people to think that."

"Great. And is he as annoying as you?"

"You have no idea."

"Is he gonna to go all stalker on me, like you did?"

"Ask him yourself." Courtney pointed over her shoulder. "He's followed us for two blocks. I figured I'd annoy him by not stopping to introduce you."

Jennifer whirled around and saw a blond teen dressed in all black striding after them. Courtney turned and waved, and he returned the gesture.

"Hey," was all he said when he reached them.

"Hey," Courtney responded. "You look like you just woke up."

It was true. The teen's back was stooped and his eyes… looked exhausted.

"Yeah, well, I slept in."

"It's past 3 o'clock."

"Like I said, I slept in."

They were approaching the pizza place now, so the conversation turned to pizza toppings. Several minutes later, the trio sat eating on the second floor.

Jennifer finally felt like speaking up, so she turned to the newcomer. "By the way, who are you?"

They both looked up from their food. Courtney spoke first.

"Sorry, I forgot. This is John. He's a friend from my old school"

John nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Jen." She wasn't surprised.

A few more minutes passed in silence. Finally, John spoke up again.

"There goes another one. This city is killing me!"

Courtney frowned. "How far is it?"

He pointed. "Right there, actually. I got it, don't worry."

"I can get it if you want."

"No, I'm good."

With that, he stood and walked to the edge of the roof. Courtney followed, and Jen tagged along. With one impressive move, John vaulted the railing and landed on the street below. He started walking down the street to where he'd pointed.

"What's he doing?" Jennifer asked.

"What you used to do every day, I expect. Watch and see if you want your old life back, okay?"

Jen said nothing, but a part of her was seething. _Just leave me alone already, you freaks!_

On the street, a mother and daughter were walking side by side, carrying their shopping bags. Just when Jen looked, the girl's fingers slipped and she dropped one of the bags. Something small and round rolled out, bouncing along the sidewalk. The girl, maybe 8 years old, took off running after the ball, while the mother bent down to grab the rest of the things. Then the ball rolled out away from the curb. _That's not good!_ Jen realized as the girl charged after it. John was standing across the street now. Coincidentally, a large truck had just turned the corner and was rumbling down the street towards them. John strode quickly into the street and kicked the ball back toward the little girl.

She watched it go by her with an open mouth, but didn't stop running.

"Cute kid," Courtney mumbled.

When he realized that she wasn't going to stop, John dashed toward her. The truck driver, finally aware of his part in the accident, slammed his brakes and pounded the horn. With a great leap sideways, John snatched up the girl and twisted so she was on top of him. A disk of light started to form beneath them, but its formation was too slow. It shattered as John fell through it, and he skidded a foot along the asphault. Jen's jaw dropped as she watched the truck surge in front of them, missing by a few inches. Apparently the truck driver didn't feel like sticking around. The mother barely had time to switch from calm to hysterical to relieved, so she opted for a strange combination of all three. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! What were you doing out there Casey? You could have died! Oh, what would I have done? But you're safe now, darling." John was already jogging back to the restaurant. Jennifer was speechless.

He jumped back up to the second story. "Well, that didn't go as planned," he commented.

"Yeah, it's almost like you're losing your touch," Courtney chided him.

"If I am, it's not from a lack of practice. This place is keeping me busy."

"So, Jennifer." Courtney was back to business. "Want to guess what would have happened if we weren't here?"

"No." Jen looked down.

"Want to guess how many people you would have saved if you never stopped being a superhero?"

All of a sudden Jennifer felt anger overwhelm her. "Shut up! Shut up already! Is this the only reason you came here? I'm not special, okay? I don't have any supernatural powers I can use to save the world! Just leave me alone!" She was about to leave, but her feet were pressed to the floor by an unnatural force. A similar force kept her from falling over when she tried to turn anyway and lost her balance.

They were both glaring at her. Courtney's eyes were glowing red, and her voice was layered when she spoke.

"Little Casey's still down there, you know. It's not too late for you to run over there and beat her to death, if you want her to die that much. I'll even hold her down for you."

---

Starfire flew though the air, enjoying it thoroughly. She always enjoyed flying. She was headed for the pizza parlor they always went to, but since Robin usually paid, she'd almost forgotten to bring her purse with her money in it.

Glancing down, she noticed a storefront that interested her, so she landed and went inside. After spending several minutes inside but buying nothing, she came out again. Just as she was about to take off, she heard voices shouting nearby.

"Look at him go!"

"What…woah!"

"What's up with him?"

Starfire turned to look just in time to see Beast Boy slice through the air above her. She didn't have time to think, but she took off after him right away. He turned a corner, and when she followed, she saw that he was in human form...mostly. A pair of massive bat wings had sprouted from his back and he was using them to fly recklessly through the city.

---

Beast Boy didn't know what he felt. He was part frantic, part excited, part dreading seeing her again. All he knew was as long as he was looking for her he'd know what to do. When he found her, things would get confusing again. On the bright side, his wings were working perfectly. A whole new world was open to him now, with the idea of partial transformations. He felt the strain, but the ability to fly so well was definitely worth it.

He'd tried the school, but it was done for the day. He'd tried a handful of other places as well, and now he was just doing random patterns. Maybe he'd try the pizza place next, he decided suddenly. He turned a few corners, and there it was. He thought he saw a uniform from her school, but it was so far away. Time for another partial transformation: eagle eyes.

It didn't work very well. Without any practice, he only succeeded in blurring his vision badly. He was dimly aware that he was getting closer to the pizza place, still trying to fly straight and fix his eyes at the same time. It was kind of like walking and chewing gum: Beast Boy couldn't do that either.

The changeling barely managed to make out the rooftop, so he banked down to land on it. With a series of loud crashing sounds, he ended up sprawled out on a table. Finally, he could focus on his eyes again.

"Uh, who's that?"

"I think it's Beast Boy. He's one of the Teen Titans."

"Oh, I've heard of him. Is he okay?"

"Hey Beast Boy, you okay over there?"

"I have to go, now," a third voice said. Somehow that girl's voice was familiar to him.

"What?" the other voices said in unison. He couldn't tell, but he thought he heard running footsteps before they stopped abruptly.

Beast Boy finally stood up, able to see again. _No more experiments for a while._ He shook his head to clear it completely, then looked around. A familiar teen was standing in front of him, looking a little surprised.

"That was a dramatic entrance," Recoil commented. Beast Boy recognized him instantly, from the surveillance tapes. He looked past Robin's new rival, remembering why he was there. A black-haired girl was standing by the door, wearing the Jump High school uniform. He sighed heavily. _Not her._

"Hey, Recoil," he said tiredly.

"You want some pizza?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

They both sat down and grabbed slices of pizza. Beast Boy found himself staring at the girl he'd thought was Terra. She was still standing there, looking awkward.

"Who's that?" he asked.

Recoil glanced over. "She's a friend of mine. She, uh, gets nervous around strangers."

"Oh." Beast Boy didn't seem interested.

As soon as he looked away, Seraphic made a face at Recoil. He'd pay for that later, but right now she had to stand here, making sure "Jennifer" was pinned to the wall inside a small alcove by the door, her mouth covered as well. _A lot of strange coincidences just happen to make things easier when you're working with that guy._ It was the truth, no use denying it.

Jennifer was glaring poisoned daggers at her from the shadows, but Seraphic figured deep down the girl was glad Beast Boy had shown up. Something about the way her heartbeat had nearly tripled when she saw him. _She's like an open book…_

"Beast Boy, can I ask you something?"

The changeling looked up from his slice. "Yeah?"

"I need to know…Ah, never mind."

"What?"

"Beast Boy, you know I'm a psychic, right?"

"That's what you told Robin."

"Well, normally I'd just use my ability to get all the information I need from you, then I'd say the exact thing you need to hear to be impressed. I've gotten pretty good at that."

"Okay…"

"The truth is, I'm really tired right now. I've been reading minds constantly for days, and I don't want to go to all that trouble, so I'm just going to ask you to fill me in, okay?"

"Is my reputation really that bad?" Beast Boy crossed his arms, insulted. "I know I'm not the smartest hero around, but come on!"

"Oh, so her name is Terra. Thanks, Beast Boy."

The Titan just stared at him, frozen in shock.

"I can still do it, I just really don't feel like it right now. If you talk to me honestly, I'll share some of my information with you."

"What do you want to know about Terra?" Beast Boy demanded, then, "Wait! What do you know about Terra?"

"I know that she has lost some or all of her memory. I know that she believes that her name is Jennifer and she has gone to Jump High School for the last few years. It is obvious from her situation that she was not a normal human before, as she not only forgot who she was, but she had alternate memories attached to her, probably against her will. Now it's your turn. How do you know her?"

-----

Xephyr: Hello everybody! I'm an extension of Critic's personality, here to provide comic backup! Yeah…I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Critic: I know I haven't written in like 2 weeks or so, and I'm very sorry. I'll try to keep up the pace I had before, but I am in college, and I'm not exactly getting perfect grades here. I was wondering if maybe an extra segment at the end of each chapter would keep me interested in the story itself. Oh, and some FEEDBACK would be nice.

Xephyr: I'm actually a character in this story, but my entrance is so far off Critic decided to give me some lines to keep me occupied before my debut. So I'll be here for a while, commenting on the storyline and stuff in the life of the author until I get to join the fun. I'll try to keep it shor-

Critic: Time's up! I'm gonna post the chapter now, so my friend Xephyr will have to wait. I'll probably finish the next chapter in a day or two anyway.

Next Chapter: Deviation


	8. Chapter 8: Conflagration

Chapter 8: Conflagration

Raven was buried in a book when she heard a knock on her door. Probably Beast Boy; she ignored it.

Outside the room, Beast Boy faltered. He hadn't absorbed enough personality from the real Beast Boy, so he wasn't sure what to do. After thinking for a moment, he gave up and just entered Beast Boy's override code for the door. It slid open and he saw Raven glaring up at him, surrounded by stacks of ancient-looking books.

"You do realize how incredibly important this would have to be to do that," she said calmly.

He smiled Beast Boy's goofy smile and stepped into the room. "I, uh, reeeeaally missed you?"

Raven ignored him. "I'm guessing someone lost a limb or something because that's the only reason you would risk your own painful dismemberment and open my door." Beast Boy paled as darkness streamed from her eyes.

He stumbled backward, out the door. "Sorry," he mumbled before it slid shut in front of him.

Out in the hallway, Red X swung down from a shadow above her door. "Hey, what was that!?" he demanded.

Beast Boy's color wasn't returning. "She's…there's something wrong with that room! It doesn't make sense!" With that, he keeled over and puked on the floor.

"Not here! What are you doing?"

"The pill!" Beast Boy gasped. "Give it to me!"

Red X reached into a pocket and retrieved a small red pill Slade had given him. Devin managed to stand up, still disguised as Beast Boy, and color forced its way into his face. Just as he reached for the pill, the door slid open again.

"What?" Raven stopped short, taking in the situation.

Devin faltered, but Red X sprang into action. He sent Beast Boy to the floor with a vicious backhand and sprinted down the hall. "N-no!" the changeling croaked, watching him go.

"Beast Boy, are you okay?" Raven was immediately worried: the color was draining from his face again. She knelt down, ready to stop a bruise from forming on his face. His eyes widened and he tried to push her away. Something was wrong here.

Finally, he managed to speak again. "He…he has it. I have to get it back from him. Please…"

Raven understood. Slapping the alarm on her brooch, she turned and dashed after Red X. She didn't recognize Beast Boy's problem, so there was no way for her to treat it. Red X would know what it was.

Devin's strength returned a minute later and he dragged himself to his feet. Beast Boy would try to catch Red X, but he couldn't risk meeting that girl again. The only person here who would avoid Raven if they saw her was Red X himself. The masked teenager turned and ran the other way down the hall.

Robin dove through the door to the computer room, listening to Raven's report. "Okay, I'm here," he said to the communicator. "Security shows Red X making his way down the third hall on your level, Raven. It…wait, it also shows him going up a level in stairwell B. I have two contacts for him."

"Well I'm going to take down one of them!" Raven barked in to the communicator. "Which one's closer?"

"Keep going straight, you're catching up to him. I'll get the one on the stairs, he'll be near here soon." With that, he was out in the hall again.

* * *

Robin was right: Raven saw X's cape turning the corner ahead of her. She phased into the wall and cut the corner, homing in on him. A second later she saw him go down, roll, and get back up. Clumsiness? Then the floor exploded. 

Red X grunted as a bit of plaster hit his mask. He dove through the hole and fell into the common room. Only stunned for a second, Raven phased through the floor and headed straight for him. _That idiot, why'd he say that!? Now I have to pretend to drop something so she can "save" Beast Boy._ He tossed a strange looking device on the couch before he landed, then dashed for the door. Raven swept it up, squinted at it, and crushed the scanner in her fist. Darkness was seeping from her eyes like some sort of poison gas. Then she was after him again. He pulled out more explosives: having to use doors was too much of a disadvantage here.

* * *

Robin stood in front of the door, twitching. He'd connected his communicator to the security network and was watching Red X come up the stairs. In a few seconds the villain would pass in front of that door. He studied it carefully, one of the few non-automatic doors in the tower. Emergency stairwells needed to be accessible without power. He was tempted to just get it off of its hinges and knock it over on the invader, but then he'd miss out on getting some answers, and that was the best part of any fight. He tensed when Red X passed the floor below him, but the enemy didn't take that door. He was definitely coming this way. Then he tripped. 

"No!" Robin felt deflated. He watched as "Red X" picked himself gingerly, as if the real X would trip climbing the stairs. _That means Raven's after the real one. Let's see what I got here._ He threw the door open. The bang echoed down the staircase, but it didn't matter. He could see the imposter limping in front of the camera.

_It's not healing! Stupid partner, I could've just held onto the pill myself!_ Devin's entire leg was numb enough to not move right but awake enough to hurt. That, and Robin had just swung down from above and landed in front of him. "You think this is over?" he croaked in Red X's monotone. "Slade will come for you!"

Robin sighed. "Alright, buddy, come here and I'll put you out of your misery." He advanced down the stairs and onto the landing between floors.

"Don't look down on me!" The voice didn't even sound like Red X anymore. But it did sound familiar somehow.

Robin waved off a pitiful punch when he got closer, gripped the impostor's suit and slammed him against the wall. "Now who are you really?" He reached over and pulled off the mask, the way he used to when he wore it himself. He wasn't ready for what looked back at him.

"You're…Who are you!?" It was his own face that smirked back at him.

"That's easy, Robin," his voice chided. "I'm you."

To his embarrassment, Robin was so shocked that he took a nasty punch to the side of the head before he could react. An axe-kick followed, putting him on the ground. His communicator slipped from his hand and the enemy kicked it down the stairs. He was back on his feet in an instant, but the Red X/Robin imposter was already a flight down, grabbing the communicator. He flipped it open.

* * *

"Raven! It's a trap! Get away from X!" 

Raven blinked in surprise, and her grip loosened. Red X managed to tear himself away, gasping for breath. _That was way too close._ His opponent cocked her head for a second, thinking, then reached for her communicator.

"Robin, they did something to Beast Boy. And besides, if Red X had a trap he would have used it already."

X slowly reached a hand behind his back. Raven raised her hand defensively. Then Robin's reply came.

"Raven, Beast Boy left the tower 20 minutes ago."

There was another explosion, and a trail of smoke streamed along the wall. Raven dashed after Red X, but he made it to the window and crashed through it ahead of her. She shielded herself from the cascade of glass shards, and he was gone.

* * *

Red X broke the surface and pulled himself up onto the dock. Robin was waiting for him, wearing the same dark outfit. "I don't actually look like him you idiot," he growled in his monotone voice. Devin frowned. 

"Prove it."

"…never mind. Here's your pill."

"You got it all wet!"

"Shut up, take the pill, and come on. We're going back."

"Really?"

"We tried doing it your way and failed. This time I'll find the target while you run around distracting them."

-----

Xephyr: That didn't hurt much, did it?

Critic: What are you talking about!? It hurts!!! The pain! I haven't written in so long and now it feels so wrong!

Xephyr: Dude, it's better than letting the story die! You said you'd write more in a few days, not months!

Critic: But! But! I'm in college! I have to study!

Xephyr: You were reading manga.

Critic: I was learning how to write good stories!

Xephyr: You abandoned your story! What about all of your fans? I bet they were so sad.

Critic: Not sad enough to review my story, apparently. If I'd gotten one review I would have written more...

Xephyr: You're done! Now start writing the next chapter!

Critic: It's 9:30...

Xephyr: NOW!!! You left Beast Boy and Terra hanging like that!

Critic: Okay, I'm going...

Xephyr: Attention anybody reading this: Critic here has had a really hard semester so he didn't write anything for a while...But! This story is not dead, and it will not die! If you want to read it then put it in your story alerts and you'll get an email whenever he gets a chapter done. It might be a while, but it'll happen! I promise!

Critic: Besides, it's Christmas break. I'll get more chapters done.

Next Chapter: Recommendation


	9. Chapter 9: Recommendation

Chapter 9: Recommendation

Beast Boy was on a roll, and Recoil wasn't about to stop him.

"...come to think of it, maybe I could turn into a scorpion that big..."

"...of course, it was nice meeting another kid with powers, you know?..."

"...I just couldn't believe things ended up that way, I mean, Robin didn't have a clue..."

"...and she was great! It took me way longer than that to get a handle on my powers!"

"...Raven didn't buy it though, but it's kinda her job to be the skeptical one. Pissed me off, though..."

"...I just know there was something I could have done, and none of it would have happened! Still..."

"...she just couldn't do it. No, she chose not to do it! She ended up saving us all..."

"...and there she was, just standing there. But you can guess how that turned out..."

When he was good and truly done, he sat back and grabbed another slice of pizza. Recoil decided not to order another, and just tossed the box up on the stack. Vegetarian pizza makes for a good story/comfort food, and there were about 8 empty boxes by now.

"Well, I think that's mission accomplished then!" Recoil was cheerful. "You got it all off your chest, and now everybody's up to date on the situation."

"Everybody? You mean you and your friend?" Beast Boy pointed as Seraphic.

Recoil ignored the gesture. "Now, would you be able to tell all that to Terra herself, like you just said it to me?"

Beast Boy gulped. "Uh, maybe. I did try, but she didn't want to listen to me."

"We"ll just have to make her listen then."

"How will you do that?"

"I have powers similar to Ravens'. I'll just pin her to a wall and have you pour out your heart!"

"What the heck!? You...you can't do that! I mean, isn't that against the law or something?"

"Only if she presses charges." Recoil smirked, "Seriously though, this is a little more important than that don't you think? I want to make sure she understands her position."

Beast Boy thought for a minute. "So...wait. Wouldn't it be better to find a way to just restore all her memories instead of telling her about them?"

Recoil looked uncomfortable. "I...didn't say I want to restore her memories."

"WOAH!!!" Beast Boy jumped to his feet. "What do you want, then? Her powers!? You want...you want to give her back her powers so she can fight for you or something?" _That's...too much!_

"She can save lives with her powers. It's not our job to actually do anything for her, but if it's for the good of this planet we're authorized to teach her how to use them again."

"And what about her memories? I want Terra back, even if she can't move dirt around with her mind."

Suddenly, Recoil leaned over and grabbed the changeling's collar. Pulling him close, he hissed, "Look, it's sort of a probation thing, okay? She proves that she's a good person and all, and we can get permission to release her memories. The whole point is that if she finds out it's a test, it doesn't count and she's stuck this way." He leaned back, calmly.

Beast Boy was thinking again. Apparently there was a system for this kind of thing.

"Well, you've totally ruined the effect I was going for, but I guess you scored some points for 'romantic style.' Seraphic, bring her out."

"About time." Beast Boy looked up as Seraphic pulled Jennifer around the corner. It hit him faster than his brain was running, and the effect was...typical of Beast Boy, actually.

"TERRA!!! WHAT ARE YOU... Oh, so... and you heard me say... oh. Well, I guess you've heard my story now."

And, as nobody else seemed to want to talk, he kept right on going. "Um, I'm sorry for bugging you before, but you know it...it's all true and I only really gave up because I didn't know for sure if you were Terra. But you are, and...and I'm going to shut up now."

Recoil stood and started counting money out of his wallet. "Well, now that everybody understands each other, I think we need to split up and think this over a little. Don't worry Beast Boy, we'll take good care of Terra for a while. And Terra, nobody's expecting miracles from you. Just take it all at your own pace and soon everything will work out."

Beast Boy could think of several thousand things he should say but whenever he focused on one of them it sounded too stupid. Fortunately, his communicator started beeping so he didn't need to say anything. He just turned and flew away.

* * *

Starfire joined him almost immediately. "That was a very good thing, wasn't it?" she asked. 

"Oh, you heard?" Then a new flood of thoughts rushed into his mind. He felt like his head was going to explode. "Listen, Star, about earlier...I don't think any problem's going to get easier if you just forget about it."

"What are you talking about?" She looked so innocent when she said it.

"Earlier, what you told me...before you went shopping."

"I didn't talk to you before I went shopping, Beast Boy. I thought about it but decided you were too busy."

"Oh." Beast Boy almost wanted to cry. "Never mind then."

* * *

Critic: is there too much angst here? 

Xephyr: no duh!

Critic: well, at first I just wanted to give the characters complex problems to solve. I hate it when stories make up really simple problems that solve themselves, and pretend it's a big deal.

Xephyr: Those are the stories that people actually read and enjoy.

Critic: Ahem. Then I realized it was way too emotional and decided that I'd make fun of it, since so many high-schoolers see life that way.

Xephyr: Well, they do, but you haven't actually made fun of it yet.

Critic: I think in the end it's sort of a study in emotional crap. All these problems are really complicated, but the solution to most of them is to just talk about it. Plus I want to cast each character as being able to easily solve someone else's problems but nobody can fix their own.

Xephyr: Yeah, life can be like that. Wait...what problem do I have??? And what do I get to fix?

Critic: well, your problem of inferiority/responsibility passed into Recoil because you weren't here yet, but his big problem is actually relationship issues with Seraphic. Actually wait, I have a problem for you! Just wait and see. Heh heh...

Xephyr: That doesn't bode well. Oh, and I noticed earlier that you changed my name! Recoil called me Zephyr with a Z!

Critic: unfortunately, your name hasn't solidified yet. None of the Azar people reveal their actual birth names though, so it's not like I can't change what you call yourself. Even though Xephyr was the first name I thought up for this story.

Xephyr: Yikes! By the end of this conversation you'll be calling me "Bob" or something. Before that happens though, I'd like to get the announcements done.

Xephyr: THIS STORY IS NOT DEAD!!! The author here has had a renewed source of inspiration (that and his computer crashed. He decided not to reinstall any of the games until this summer, to help his grades and his writing) So there will be more! I don't know who reads this, but to _violet.warrior_, thank you very much for your support. There will be another chapter up in the next few days.

Critic: Actually, I'm not hooked up to the internet right now, so both chapters will appear at the same time.

* * *

Next Chapter: Penetration.

Just then something caught her eye. _There's the real attack._


	10. Chapter 10: Penetration

Chapter 10: Penetration

The alarm blared in Robin's ears, but he didn't dash anywhere. Instead he calmly tapped a key on the keyboard and the sound stopped. The sound had come from a plug in his left ear, not the massive tower speakers that scream, "We know you're trying to sneak into our tower!!!"

The others weren't back yet. Robin had felt that the tower was vulnerable until they arrived, but he hadn't actually expected another attack 5 minutes after the first one. That is, he hadn't expected it until he remembered the uncanny way Red X always saw things the same way he did. The memory of his face staring back at him was definitely burned into his brain. He'd relaxed after a while when he remembered that the Red X...person had been wearing a mask like his as well. He was so accustomed to seeing it in the mirror, he hadn't realized it. Obviously Red X didn't actually look like him under that mask as well. _Obviously, so I shouldn't even be bothered by it anymore._

"Who is it?" Raven checked in.

He knew what she meant. "It's Cyborg. He used his hand to enter the garage. Wait..."

Robin activated the cameras and inspected the figure. "Raven, he's holding a box. I don't think our impostor had time to pick up a real car part. Go check it out, but be careful."

* * *

_Roger._ Raven had been communicating with her mind, the best way to be sure when the enemy might have a hand-held communicator. It wasn't long before the door to the garage slid open in front of her. 

"Hey, Cyborg!" she called out, pacing onto the concrete.

"I'm here. What's the problem?" the metal teenager ran up to her.

"It's complicated. What'd you buy?"

"Oh that," Cyborg's human eye lit up. "It's a special-made power coupling. Y'see, I can make the T-car handle the increased power, easy, but this new core sends surges down the line sometimes. Now a regular engineer would route the power through a surge box, but they're heavy and if somebody shoots the car in just the right spot, they'll blow it out. So what I'm doing is putting surge protection and grounding on a series of special cables, that way's lighter and it doesn't leave a weak spot."

Raven blinked. "Impressive...I think. Can I see this...coupling thing?"

"Sure, straight from Taiwan."

Raven inspected the box. "Good. Now, Cyborg I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, what's that?"

"Eject your arms and legs. Now."

"What?"

"You heard me. One arm and one leg will be enough, actually."

"Look, there is no way I'm..." The look Raven gave him made Cyborg shut up.

"Please," she added.

Grumbling, Cyborg ejected one of his legs and one arm. "See? I'm still half man half machine!"

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry about that." Cyborg's limbs glowed black and floated into position to reconnect.

"Okay, now you're gonna tell me what this is all about, and fast." Cyborg got to his feet.

_It's him,_ she sent to Robin before replying. "We had enemies inside the tower. One of them can change his shape."

"Uh, I'm made of metal."

"I had to be sure."

"So what do we do now?"

"Well, we've set the alarm to silent, and Robin's monitoring the tower. I guess we just stay this way until the others get back. Then we decide what to do.

_Raven, there's a...pizza delivery boy at the front door._

* * *

Raven opened the door to stare incredulously at him. "I didn't know you guys delivered to islands." 

"New idea, actually," he replied cheerfully. When they redid which stores delivered to which city areas, they decided to give one a motorboat and have it deliver only to waterfront locations. Lucky break for you guys, huh?"

He got an even blanker stare. "Just how stupid are you?" She stepped toward him threateningly.

_This is not good, _she received from Robin. Just then a second pizza delivery boy came up the path. "Whoo boy, how do you do it, Chuck?" he asked the first.

"You two know each other?" Raven asked, worried.

"We work for different places," Chuck explained. "It's a game with the teenagers lately to order a pizza from both of us at once and see who gets there first."

"No way." Raven watched as two more delivery boys approached. "How did you two get here?"

"Somebody called in, asked for a delivery. They even called a boat rental, said it was super-important that we got here right away." One of them had a bag from a gift shop in town, the other some sort of tray. "Sounds to me like the Titans are having an emergency party, right?"

Raven groaned. There was a small crowd approaching from the dock. _He could be any one of them, even the ones who know each other._

* * *

Robin knew an excellent diversion when he saw it, but he had nothing to do until the real attack began. _Knowing X, the next time I think that to myself the attack will have already begun!_ he realized. Nothing to do but wait...

* * *

Red X moved quickly but quietly. Moving now meant that the security network wouldn't be any different: there weren't many blind spots around the tower, but there were enough. It's the easy systems you have to watch out for: they're all either traps or they'll be patched up eventually. For some reason, the best way in was Beast Boy's room. His entrance hadn't been discovered before, so he made his plan. Getting to the window was easy, but to get in he used a special gadget perfect for these situations. 

A wave of sound erupted toward the tower, hitting with a deafening impact. Every window in a 20 ft. radius flexed inward and shattered. Removing his earplugs, X took the window and sprinted. Not a direct route, but pretty close. His target was Robin's trophy room.

* * *

The impact threw Robin off. Cameras were down all over the blast radius. Time to start running. 

He reached the hallway outside Beast Boy's room, where the impact was the worst. All he could find was one light impression in the fine layer of debris, a footprint. That was all he needed.

* * *

"Woah, what was that!?" 

Raven had counted 9 delivery boys by the door when the blast happened, and of course she lost count. One or two of them just started running away. "All right, everybody line up!!!" she bellowed. They all did.

She walked straight up to the first one in line, and put her hands on the sides of his head. He gave her an odd look, but she passed on. _Hopefully this is the answer._ She went to the second, then to the third. She started to worry as she approached the last two. They were the two pizza boys, the first to arrive. First she checked Chuck, then his friend. _No!!!_

Raven rounded on the line again. Then she sighed. _I don't have another way to find out, so it's pointless to check._ She levitated into the air. "All of you, go home. We'll pay for the stuff later."

Just then something caught her eye. _There's the real attack._

Devin stopped to catch his breath. _It had to be her!_ Personally, he thought the delivery plan was pure genius, but some technicality had messed it up: that girl was poison. Fortunately there were other guys who ran away when the blast hit, so the cover was good. Unfortunately, he still had to run around distracting the enemy. He didn't like jobs where he could actually get hurt. In fact, he'd never had one before. Still, he gritted his teeth and started running. Raven saw him right away.

She streaked after him. He was in the form of Red X again, but that didn't seem to help much. He dashed for the tower and used one of the charges X gave him to blow a hole in the wall. Once inside, he ran as fast as he could, no real idea of where he was going.

"BOOYAH!" Cyborg burst through a door he was passing and pounded him against the wall. Grinning, he reached down and picked up the shapeshifter. "So you're either Red X or...somebody else. In any case, you're done here."

"You're made of metal?" the figure asked incredulously, "Doesn't that get annoying?"

"Uh, kinda. But this makes up for it." Cyborg pinned him firmly against the wall.

"Really? I should try it then." A thin line of energy flowed up Cyborg's arm. He noticed it right before it touched the human side of his face.

"Man, what are you-" he stopped as the figure in his arms swelled and got heavier. Cyborg burst out of his grip and leaned back against the wall for a second before rushing forward.

* * *

Raven phased into the hallway just in time to see Cyborg punch Cyborg. _What a headache._ She flew straight at both of them, working on a hunch. 

"Raven, get him!" the winning Cyborg called out. "He's not very..." he trailed off when she got closer.

"Dang it!" he shouted and ran down the hall.

"Well Raven, you want proof again?" the real Cyborg yelled. "Here I go!" He launched his right arm, still cabled to his shoulder, straight at the fleeing one. It caught the figure's leg, and the leg...detached itself.

"Woah," they both said in unison as he hopped around the corner.

* * *

Critic: I realize that my style is changing a little bit, because I started writing this so long ago. I'm hoping to get better, so if you have any suggestions... 

Xephyr: Remember the first drafts? They were completely different!

Critic: yeah, well, I wrote those before the series actually ended. The original concept gave Jinx an OC pairing, but then the real show decided to do that. She'll still see some action, but it's more because Kid Flash used to know these guys. The story in my head is so intricate and convoluted it'll take a while to lay down on paper. The Harry Potter books were a good example of the style I want: a whole bunch of loose ends get thrown out in the beginning, and they get tied back into the story along the way.

Xephyr: I really don't have anything to say this time, do I?

Critic: No, you don't. Get over it.

Xephyr: the next chapter WILL be out sometime in the next 24 hours - 2 weeks. Of course we all prefer sooner but Critic has Java programming homework to do.

Xephyr: and one last thing: I lost the copies of previous chapters that were on this computer, but I could still go grab it off the net and fix any mistakes. if you see one, tell about it. Please and thank you.

* * *

Next Chapter: Appropriation.

_"It's...broken."_

_"Do you think I'm a fool!?" Slade slammed his fist down on his 'throne.' "Do you have any idea what it would take to destroy that ring!?"_

_Red X retrieved the pieces from a pocket and held them out._

_Slade's eye widened considerably. "NO!!!"_


	11. Chapter 11: Appropriation

Chapter 11: Appropriation

"Is this real?" Cyborg wondered aloud, reeling in his hand, and with it the ejected leg. "It definitely feels like metal."

"No clue." Raven reached for it, and something happened: it started to melt.

"Woah!" Cyborg dropped it like it was poisonous, and it became solid again. They both stared at it for a second. Then it moved, and they both jumped. The whole thing squirmed, then separated into several pieces. Each piece morphed into a cockroach and scurried away, around the corner. Raven reached out and grabbed one, and it screeched horribly as it turned to liquid. She felt a surge of bitterness as the energy seeped into her hand, and it was gone. _Ugh. What was that?_

"After them!" Cyborg shouted and charged, and she followed. It wasn't long before they caught up to the intruder, whose leg had almost regenerated. A stream of bugs was reaching him and adding their mass back into his growing leg.

"Never actually done that before," he said to nobody in particular.

"All right, you...thing," Cyborg started the interrogation. "Tell us what you know."

"Yeah, that's how it always works, isn't it? You catch me and I spill my guts. Unless I don't talk, in which case you give up and hand me over to the police, who I escape from the next day." The fake Cyborg smirked. "Did I miss anything?"

They both thought for a minute. Then Raven stepped forward. "If you're all tied up, I'll have to carry you to the police station."

His smugness went away just as quickly as it had come, turning instead to panic. "Dang it. Guess I forgot about that part."

"Guess ya did, you little punk!" Cyborg came back into the conversation. He didn't move closer, though.

"What's the deal with you anyway?" Raven prodded. "What is it about me that weakens you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm allergic to demon spawn you monster." He said it so calmly, you wouldn't know how much it meant. Raven turned away.

"Steady," Cyborg put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't want to hurt him too much." A soft glow told him she had more than two eyes right now. Their captive frowned.

"I guess this is what Slade wanted me to learn, coming here. Who knew that was his reason for wanting it."

Raven managed to suppress her anger and oblige him. "What does Slade want?"

"Just a demon-suppressing artifact, that's all. Actually it used to be his, but he didn't think you'd just give it back if he asked for it."

Cyborg smiled. "For someone who's not talking, you've already told us who you're working for and what you're after. Anything else you feel like sharing?"

"Yeah, actually. I can phase through walls, just like Raven can!"

Raven dove forward and grabbed the fake Cyborg's arm. It broke off in her hand: inside it was hollow. She swung her hand through him, crumbling the shell. Every shard she touched flowed into her hand, bringing with it a sense of bitterness.

* * *

It was only as an afterthought that Robin went back to collect the pieces of the ring of Azar. He'd asked Raven for help, and she was able to sense their location fairly well. There were many pieces, but they accounted for all of them. Robin had left them on display in his trophy room. They weren't there now.

_Slade probably wasn't counting on his prize being in a dozen pieces. He's not going to be happy about this._

Red X emerged from the room and came mask to mask with Robin. With a yell, the teen titan leaped at him with a kick. It connected harshly, but X went into a roll and came up swinging. They separated after a few seconds, both panting.

"I'm sorry Robin, it looks like I'll be making some more holes in your tower before this is all over."

"What did you take?" Robin demanded.

"No use hiding it. I was sent for the ring of Azar. Looks like you didn't take very good care of it."

"The ring Slade gave us? What does he want with it?"

They exchanged a handful of blows, working their way down the hall.

"I gotta tell you, this isn't the best deal I've ever gotten on a job."

"Any deal that goes against the Teen Titans is harder than it's worth."

"It's not my problem if you mess up Slade's plans. And this time, they're big."

"This time they might be big, but they've always been evil. And so far I've put an end to every single one of them."

Another flurry of blows and X was ready to make his escape.

"Actually, he seems to think you'd agree with this one. Said you were bored lately."

With that, he blew a hole in the wall and was outside the tower.

"SOMEBODY BRING HIM DOWN!!!" Robin roared into the communicator.

"The other one's leaving on foot," Raven came back.

"We're almost at the tower," replied Beast Boy.

"Looks like we almost caught them then." Cyborg growled "But 'almost' doesn't cut it!"

* * *

"You better realize what a step down this is for me, human. I'm not used to-" "SILENCE!"

Slade's patience had run out. It had been running down for some time now. "Let me make this very clear to you, Blackfire. You have come to me because you are incapable of getting what you want on your own! I only have one offer for someone like you, and that is to do whatever I say, when I tell you to do it, and accept whatever fringe benefits you can get your glowing hands on. My plans do not require you, so if you want to play a part you had better convince me that you are not useless! You will now hold your tongue and fly out of here, or I assure you you will never fly again."

When she was gone, he managed to calm down a bit. _What have I become? Surrounded by children, all with petty goals, none with the ability to reach those goals. I am reduced to a criminal daycare service! And yet... "never make an enemy of someone who will outlive you." I find myself with the apprentice I always wanted, and more than one of them. But none of these are what I want. That's why this next step is so crucial._

His thoughts were broken when Red X and Devin entered the room. They both looked scuffed up. Devin wouldn't be able to heal himself without another pill, and Red X knew it was a decent bargaining tactic: 'look at how hard it was. Pay me more.'

"Ah, you've returned. I believe you will have yet another member in your little team soon. Please be patient though, it won't be for long. Now, do you have my ring?" He could feel the excitement soothing his aggravation.

Red X hesitated. "Yes but, it's...broken."

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Slade slammed his fist down on his 'throne.' "Do you have any idea what it would take to break that ring!?"

Red X took the pieces from his pocket and held them out.

Slade's eye widened considerably. "NO!!!"

"Slade, can I have another pill, please," Devin said with his calm, adult voice. The one that meant he wanted something very badly. Red X put out a hand in front of him. "Don't ask now." Privately he wondered if he actually cared about the child or just saw the wisdom in not angering Slade further.

"Bring the shards to me, then leave." Slade's voice was calm again. "As for Devin, just feed him plenty and he'll recover. The pills are for emergencies only."

When they had gone, Slade was alone with himself again. He poked at the broken pieces of the ring, planning the repairs. _Yet another setback. I am growing impatient. But I never imagined that Trigon would actually break the ring; maybe we were in real danger after all._

_...A lot has happened, but I never actually thought I would outlive him. I suppose immortality really is a chase after the wind..._

* * *

Xephyr: Maybe this chapter was a bit of a letdown for the 2 readers out there. I mean, at the end of every episode either the good guys win or the story gets continued next time.

Critic: But if they all read Fanfics, they should know that none of these go that way. I do like the episode style, though. Sometimes you just need to step back from the action and say "nothing happened for about a week."

Xephyr: and we're only one or two "weeks" away from my grand entrance! Wait, does that mean I can't comment here anymore?

Critic: actually, you're like a clone. Thestory character will be slightly different, and his name might change. In any case he'll be separate from you, so you'll keep on going here.

Xephyr: I'm like an evil twin.

Critic: ooh, don't say that. I actually gave Beast Boy an evil twin when I first thought up this story. The twin was an amoeba left behind from when he multiplied in the episode _Crash_. He regenerated and came back to try to take Beast Boy's place. Good times... but that probably won't happen in this story. I might write it on the side.

Xephyr: is this stuff really what Fanfiction readers want to find at the end of a chapter? It sounds like you're just typing whatever pops into your head.

Critic: Oh I am Xephyr, I am.

Xephyr: the chapters are coming fast, so we'll try to keep it up. Plus the story needs to get back to what was happening in the first few chapters. No starting new story arcs without finishing the ones already going!

Critic: ...and one last thing: I've been reading manga (japanese comics) to get an idea of the plot styles. If you're interested in it, I want to suggest the best one I've found. It's called Mx0 and you can read it at Second place probably goes to "School Rumble."


	12. Chapter 12: Explanation

Chapter 12: Explanation

Recoil started his run, streaking low to the water. The tower loomed in the distance for a minute, then it was overhead. He jumped high, phasing onto the second floor and landing in a crouch. He looked up and...

"What the heck happened here?"

"Oh, hello Recoil," Starfire looked over from where she was lifting a massive support beam. "We are, ummm, redecorating!"

"Yeah, the holes were great, but it started getting' breezy at night." Cyborg was working on repairs too, as was Raven. She said nothing.

"Well I'd love to help, but I'm not really built for construction work."

"Right now I could use a hand with this," Starfire mentioned.

Twenty minutes Robin came in. "I'm getting nowhere. Is there anything I can help with down here?" He stopped short when he saw Recoil. "What are you doing!?"

"Uh, human nailgun?" the teen jumped down from his position on the wall. "Care to go another round?"

"Actually, I have a job to do. Slade's planning something 'big'." He made quotes with his fingers for the word "big."

"Oh, so he did all this?"

"No, he outsourced the job. What they stole was already broken, so we have to find out what Slade's going to do next." In the background, Starfire was struggling with another massive I-beam. She managed though, and flew up to weld it in place.

"What was it? And actually, who is Slade anyway?"

"Oh Blarf! Help me!" Above them, the beam hadn't stuck. It started to fall from its place.

"I got it!" Recoil shouted and threw up his hands. "Tracia Alivon BOROS!" The beam was enveloped in golden light and slowed, but didn't stop. "Holy crap, I don't got it," he panted.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" cried Raven, and a claw of black went up to support it. Recoil gasped and his energy shot up away from the beam.

"Hey!" Raven called as the beam fell full-force on her support. It held for a moment, then broke through.

"Well SOMEONE catch the dang thing!" Cyborg yelled. He stood square beneath it and caught it above his head with a shout of exertion.

"Metrion, huh?" Recoil mumbled to himself. Raven dispersed her power and glared fiercely at him.

"What was that!?" she demanded. "You decide to just let someone else handle it?"

Recoil retracted his field back into his body, carefully. "Come here."

She walked over to him, stopped a few feet away.

Recoil held out his arm. "Okay, so here I am, minding my own business and improving the universe." A small blob of golden light rose from his arm and formed into his shape. It walked around on his arm and waved. "...and here comes you." A little black Raven came up behind the little Recoil.

"Ooh, the miniatures are very cute!" Starfire had come down and joined them.

"Touch him," Recoil commanded Raven. The tiny Raven tapped the tiny Recoil on the shoulder, and the real one reached out to poke him. There was a loud POP and smoke swirled up from the spot where he'd been. Raven felt confidence surge up inside her for a second, and Recoil winced. When the little smoke plume cleared, the tiny Recoil was gone and there was a burn on the skin where he'd been standing.

"Woah." Cyborg's timing was good for the moment. "The little guy's toast."

"All members of the Metrion line can do this," Recoil explained. "They say it can be resisted but I have no clue how to do it."

"So when it comes to people like you, Raven's like our secret weapon!" the changeling commented.

"Beast Boy! When did you get here?"

"He was working on the circuitry," Cyborg explained. "guess I forgot to mention that, huh?"

"So I really am poison," Raven said simply.

"It's considered an incredible accomplishment when someone outside the Metrion line masters the siphon technique," Recoil explained. "You're really amazing Raven!"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Robin broke it first.

"Recoil, I don't think Raven-" "I'm not from outside the Metrion line," Raven interrupted him.

"Oh," Recoil looked at her strangely. "That's cool."

"We're gonna get back to work." Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy, who morphed into a mouse, and threw him up to one of the gaping holes in the wall. Starfire flew off as well.

"...So Robin, you were telling me about how Slade stole something from you!"

"Yes, I was! It was an artifact he called a 'ring of Azar' and we originally got it from him anyway. He was using it to resist a demon called Trigon."

Recoil's eyes widened and he slapped his forehead. "Wait. Wait just a second. This is the ring that he stole, right?"

"Yes, but it was in pieces. It didn't survive the fight with the demon."

"Oh no." Recoil walked over to the couch and flopped down. "Well, this makes things complicated."

"What do you know?" Robin demanded. Raven hadn't said anything but she was obviously intersted.

"My mission here is to retrieve the ring of Azar. We understand that there was a shockwave of demonic energy here so there was a two man team. And Seraphic just received her orders to assist us as well."

"Does that mean Terra will be with you?" the changeling asked suddenly.

"Yo Beast Boy!" Cyborg called over. "I don't mind if you wanna sit and listen, but at least say so first!"

"Heh, sorry."

"Yes, 'Terra' will probably come along too."

"What are you talking about!?" interjected Robin. "Terra is gone."

"Okay dudes, Terra explanation, super-short version!" Beast Boy filled them in.

"That is fascinating!" Starfire exclaimed. "It would be wonderful to have our friend back."

"We're really not gonna get any work done with this guy in the house," Cyborg realized.

"Okay, your turn," Raven turned to Recoil. "What do you know about Trigon and the ring?"

Recoil sighed. "The ring left Azarath a long time ago, but only the higher-ups were informed. It was sent to this planet to contain Trigon of flames, who I heard was in exile here. There were two other artifacts, but they were both recalled to stop attacks elsewhere. Now this one has done its job apparently, so I'm here to recall it as well."

"Wasn't there anybody here whose job it was to look after it?" Robin asked.

"Not really. The artifacts are next to impossible to destroy, have a fairly large area of effect, and can't be used to harm anything but a demon. It would have been entrusted to a local authority, since the guild has been short on personnel for a while."

"That's really irresponsible," Raven commented.

"Well, Metrions are very rare these days, so I'm sure they didn't think it would come near one. It's just a good thing you never touched it."

"But I did touch it, after it was broken."

"If you had touched it before it was broken you wouldn't be here right now. Now...I'm screwed."

"Raven sensed it before, there's still a bit of power in the ring. We can use that to find it, and get it back," Robin suggested.

"No, it's..." Recoil stopped. "Eh, what the heck. I've already filled you in this far. The artifacts are all remotely linked to senior Guild members, so they can use their power to fight demons that are far away. If the ring was broken, the man who it belonged to is probably broken too."

"Well, like I said, there's still a trace of power in the shards. What does that mean?"

"Honestly? I have no clue."

"Oh, I would have been much more careful with it if I had known what it was!" Starfire cried.

Raven spoke up. "That's probably why Slade didn't tell you. He was a soldier, and we couldn't have saved this world without him."

"That's...kind of cold isn't it Raven?" Beast Boy added. "This dude saved you as well."

They were all quiet for a minute.

"Well, we can start by looking for Slade," Cyborg decided, "Stopping whatever he's doing is always the quickest way to fix these things."

"Actually, I think you should finish fixing your tower first." Recoil stood up. "No offense, but the fight doesn't even start until Jack gets here. And when he does, the fight ends fast."

Beast Boy frowned. "Are you kidding me? We've protected the city this whole time. I think we can handle Slade one more time."

"Actually, I agree with Recoil." They all stared at Robin after he said it. "Slade will be waiting for us to come, ready to move everything somewhere else if he has to. The only way to pin him down is to bring a big force all at once." he looked around the room and headed for the pile of materials Cyborg had brought in. "Besides," he added as an afterthought, "I bet Slade needs to fix the ring before he can use it for anything. We both want the same thing, for the moment."

"Good thinking!" Recoil looked around as well. "So, what should I do? When we're done you can show me where my room is!"

* * *

Critic: exposition, short and sweet. It would have taken a very long time to have all that just come out as they went along.

Xephyr: Fanfiction style cop-out, short but questionable. Half the stuff you could have saved for later is now out in one big wad.

Critic: Shut up.

Critic: At least the story's really moving now. I think I might start pacing the chapters, so that it stays on the front page longer. That's the only fast way to get discovered on this site, especially when you only have one story in one genre. If you're reading this and you enjoyed it, go tell all your friends!!!

Xephyr: he's all alone.

Next Chapter: Retribution.

"_I...will...kill...you." She stood, but there was nobody there._

((how's that for a cheap teaser?))


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